Repression (2013).
Exhibited in CA Gallery, Baltimore, MD.
Placed in a gallery space, upon a pedestal, this sculpture is intended to bring awareness to the repressing nature of institutions. The head is cut from mouth up as if the pedestal has entirely prevented it from speaking. This was a purposeful decision to illustrate how institutions have the ability to render individuals from communicating their ideas.
The light bulbs within the sculpture are not lit for this very reason as they serve to represent ideas and thoughts. Sealed inside and without a source/place for them outside of the mind to be used, they remain dark.
The choice of color for these painted light bulbs also go along with the idea that these ideas are wasted. The light bulbs are painted in brown and pink shades to resemble eggs. This parallel associates the ideas to eggs as to inform the audience that the ideas have the potential to become something alive and fresh within the world, but fail to have proper use in our society.
The head is made universal through its lack of distinct skin tone and abstracted facial figures. With no specific identity, it serves to represent everyone. In particular how everyone is restrained by societal structure.
Exhibited in CA Gallery, Baltimore, MD.
Placed in a gallery space, upon a pedestal, this sculpture is intended to bring awareness to the repressing nature of institutions. The head is cut from mouth up as if the pedestal has entirely prevented it from speaking. This was a purposeful decision to illustrate how institutions have the ability to render individuals from communicating their ideas.
The light bulbs within the sculpture are not lit for this very reason as they serve to represent ideas and thoughts. Sealed inside and without a source/place for them outside of the mind to be used, they remain dark.
The choice of color for these painted light bulbs also go along with the idea that these ideas are wasted. The light bulbs are painted in brown and pink shades to resemble eggs. This parallel associates the ideas to eggs as to inform the audience that the ideas have the potential to become something alive and fresh within the world, but fail to have proper use in our society.
The head is made universal through its lack of distinct skin tone and abstracted facial figures. With no specific identity, it serves to represent everyone. In particular how everyone is restrained by societal structure.
Advantage (2013).
In this piece, I attempt to convey that although society strips us from our original individuality, we can still establish ourselves as creative individuals.
In this piece, I attempt to convey that although society strips us from our original individuality, we can still establish ourselves as creative individuals.
This can be done by first acknowledging the fact that we are all different biologically speaking, but society masks these differences through the way that it socially identifies and categorizes people in an overgeneralizing manner.
In my artwork this is indicated by the obscuring of a finger print. By putting a film of man-made glue over my finger before I printed it, I attempt to show how something equally man-made as categorizating covers up the finger prints which mark us as individuals. For the 3rd finger print, I still put a film of glue over my finger. But after making the print, I reacted to it by working with the pattern and at the same time, adding to it. This is to demonstrate that it is through our reaction to the knowledge that society takes away our individuality that we can make ourselves stand out as individuals.
The larger artwork is intended to demonstrate how I personally respond to the way our society functions. It is a print of my dominant arm- also made with a film of glue on top before watercolor was applied- holding a paint brush. There is no paint, but rather, a cut out where it’s supposed to be. This allows the “paint” to take form of whatever environment it’s in. With the paintbrush in hand, or rather, as an artist I hope to take advantage of my awareness of socially constructed ideas to stand out as an individual.
The larger artwork is intended to demonstrate how I personally respond to the way our society functions. It is a print of my dominant arm- also made with a film of glue on top before watercolor was applied- holding a paint brush. There is no paint, but rather, a cut out where it’s supposed to be. This allows the “paint” to take form of whatever environment it’s in. With the paintbrush in hand, or rather, as an artist I hope to take advantage of my awareness of socially constructed ideas to stand out as an individual.
Loss (2013).
President Richard Nixon once flipped off the people of Brazil and its prime minister. What he believed to be a symbol for okay was actually the symbol forscrew you to the Brazilians. His ignorance to their customs is a perfect example of people’s tendency to “interpret the world in terms of western and especially European or Anglo-American values and experiences” (Merriam-Webster Online).
In my art piece I attempt to illustrate how this Eurocentric point of view is often at play. The white sculpture represents the hand of European or Anglo-American people, while the shadow represents the people of different races. The 3-D hand is placed in the foreground as people tend to believe that things such as history is valid without considering how it’s written from a limited perspective- one that often fails to include the perspectives of the other people involved. Together the placement and 3-D form of the hand demonstrate the dominance that the western world has.
In my art piece I attempt to illustrate how this Eurocentric point of view is often at play. The white sculpture represents the hand of European or Anglo-American people, while the shadow represents the people of different races. The 3-D hand is placed in the foreground as people tend to believe that things such as history is valid without considering how it’s written from a limited perspective- one that often fails to include the perspectives of the other people involved. Together the placement and 3-D form of the hand demonstrate the dominance that the western world has.
Branding (2013).
This life size piece is intended to be installed behind an office desk with my resume on top of it.
This life size piece is intended to be installed behind an office desk with my resume on top of it.
Is This Love? (2013).
In this piece, each of the airplanes are folded from receipts- of my purchases- with writing on the back of them. The airplanes are a reminder of the childhood which I lost due to my father’s physical and emotional absence since an early age. In addition, I used to look up at the sky whenever an airplane passed, thinking about how my father seemed to have flew out of my sight like every single passing plane. On each receipt I wrote about how his leave affected both me and my family. I chose to use receipts, because money transfer served as the only interaction between my family and my father.
The sculpture is modeled after my present home. Made out of cardboard, it hints at the flimsy structure much like the one that my family is held together by. With a dark, spacious interior within the small sculpture, I intended to convey a sense of emptiness that’s overwhelmed by the many receipts.
In this piece, each of the airplanes are folded from receipts- of my purchases- with writing on the back of them. The airplanes are a reminder of the childhood which I lost due to my father’s physical and emotional absence since an early age. In addition, I used to look up at the sky whenever an airplane passed, thinking about how my father seemed to have flew out of my sight like every single passing plane. On each receipt I wrote about how his leave affected both me and my family. I chose to use receipts, because money transfer served as the only interaction between my family and my father.
The sculpture is modeled after my present home. Made out of cardboard, it hints at the flimsy structure much like the one that my family is held together by. With a dark, spacious interior within the small sculpture, I intended to convey a sense of emptiness that’s overwhelmed by the many receipts.
Intentional Ignorance (2013).
Presented next to a trash can in the corner of the room.
Presented next to a trash can in the corner of the room.
As a reaction to the existing issues prevalent in Baltimore, I’ve made a miniature model of one of the typical run-down homes. Inside, the problems such as high poverty and heroin addiction rates are written and placed in a similar way to the rough graffiti in the city.
During the presentation of this model, it was placed next to a trash can in the corner of the room. Its placement and small size refer to how people view problems which affect others as troublesome or insignificant.
During the presentation of this model, it was placed next to a trash can in the corner of the room. Its placement and small size refer to how people view problems which affect others as troublesome or insignificant.
