House of Inclusions / Self-containment Tree

house spirit inclusion specimen Tree wire projection experiment alienation separateness Encapsulation Captivity Grad Show 2015

Project Description:

Inclusion is defined as the state of being included. It can also refer to the foreign solid body enclosed within a mass.

My interest in the word "inclusion" inspired me to create poetic containers for my emotional or spiritual self by punning the language within the material process of creation into contrasting with the linguistic and social meaning of "alienation".

Growing up in multicultural background and living in different foreign places has created in me a sense of innate alienation and painful division between myself and the surrounding cultural environment. In this project, I attempt to narrate and explore this kind of psychological experience through glass, ceramic and other materials by conducting experiments to fire and encapsulate different foreign bodies (non-glass materials) such as metals, ceramic, plaster, etc. inside the glass to observe which materials are receptive to being included without cracking the glass.

After the experiment, I created a container, a nest-like or cage-like environment, using wire netting materials that are associated with caging enclosure, such as chicken wire and hardware clothe, to confine all the inclusion specimens. Due to the cultural association of the netting material used, the resulting wire container recalls in the mind an ambiguous trap. The perpetuity of the encapsulation of foreign bodies inside glass also creates within the psyche an unsettling atmosphere of eternal captivity.

After the installation, I casted a video I made as an expression of desire and discord to create an emotional projection onto the nest-like or trap-like form in attempt to convey my metaphorical spirit within that house. Through this material exploration and digital expression, I hope to narrate and question my sense of alienation as a result of the self-imposed separateness, unsuccessful cultural assimilation or defensive impulse to repress my physical and instinctual expression.

My inspiration:

Archival Links to Burmese/Thai Animism, Spirits(Nat) Houses, its worship and its manifestation in the form of social protest.

http://thecloudmovie.org/LlTGK4Czx4lesRPN