Tracy
DP Visual Arts Higher Level
CURATORIAL STATEMENT
The exhibition can be divided into two parts: architecture and surrealism. Year one projects concentrate on the comparison between dreams and reality, and the topic of three dimensional space summarizes the majority of the DP 2 arts. Three panels and one table are used to exhibit my artworks, and one table is placed in the middle to hold up materials for the participatory artwork. This arrangement makes the area a rectangle shape with a L-shape path passing through it. The shorter side of the L-shape is used to exhibit paintings, and the longer side is exhibiting 3D projects and the participatory artwork.
The exhibition begins with two acrylic paintings: A Glance and Bubble that showcase my technical skills in painting as well as exhibiting my discovery of delightful moments in life. However, while life can be inspiring, the world we live in is constructed by rules and boundaries, and we adapt to them in order to earn our place in society. The three DP 1 works in this exhibition share a common theme of avoidance of rules. During the production of these three artworks, I explore how the rebellious nature of human beings exists within the cage of social rules that we ourselves have established. It is I who create these artworks and it is the art that creates me. Looking back at the end of this journey, I see that these artworks follow the path I have taken; they represent my changes, my point of view, and my vision for the future.
The artwork created in the first year was an exploration of my idea of reality and boundaries. The first two pieces, Zzz and Wake Up! are complementary to each other. In this pair of artworks, I explored different sizes of canvas and used this contrast to tell the difference between dreams and reality. The third and fourth piece Happy Faced and Me as a Speaker also ties to this concept of breaking free.
This theme of freedom also inspires me to consider others - the audience for the art or design work I create. What medium should I use to convey my message, how does my artwork speak for me, and most importantly, how can people resonate with my art?
During the summer, I decided for myself that I wanted to study architecture in the future, and I started making artworks related to architecture. The theme of freedom extended into DP 2 as well, and I used architecture as a language to express freedom while also conveying my ideas. The artworks created in DP2 focus on the study of architecture and craftsmanship. The overall theme can be summed up as nature-inspirations. I found myself resonating with creatures of nature such as crystals, shells and insects, which then became the subjects of my art.
The table is used to display four architectural models, each placed below their corresponding posters. The two strongest pieces, Moon Jellyfish and Turbine, are placed at the end to leave the best impression to the viewers. I raised the height of the displaying table in order to let the viewers have the best experience with the architecture. I value participation in the environment, thus looking at the artworks at eye-level would give viewers the most accurate representation I intended when designing.
I decided to let the end note of this exhibition be Moon Jellyfish, since it connects back to another early artwork- the first art piece I completed in DP Art. The first artwork is a light; standing at the end of the two years of high school, this light lit up the road ahead of me. The contrast betweens Moon Jellyfish and this light best shows the viewers my transition as an artist, and the connection between them concludes my growth as a student.
Bubbles
Acrylic on canvas12" x 16"Painting Bubble captures a graceful instant I saw in a park where a lady was making bubbles with a net. Inspired by this scene, I painted this painting with my impression and imagination. The Tyndall effect made the afternoon sunshine that shone through the clearance between leaves into visible beams of light, and the bubbles sealed the world with flowing colors. I purposefully accented the highlights on people to strengthen the expressiveness of the sunlight.
A Glance
Acrylic on canvas12" x 16"A Glance is painted based on a photo I took, which pictures a double decker city bus and a passerby. The word glance in the title refers to a child in the bus pointing at the passerby, while the passerby is also looking into the bus. I intentionally changed the color of the background into a colder tone to emphasize the red color on the passer by and city bus, thus creating a connection between the two subjects.
Zzz
Acrylic on canvas30” x 40”Zzz is the complementary artwork of the small-scale artwork Wake up!. Based on the view of my bedroom, Zzz portraits the surreal, bizarre scene from a dream. Inspired by Takashi Murakami’s artwork, I used vivid and light colors that contrasted the dark background to symbolize freedom and happiness in dreams without having to worry about the reality where I am overwhelmed by expectations, pressures and responsibilities.
Wake Up!
Acrylic on canvas4.78” x 6.75”Wake up! is inspired by miniature artist Lorraine Loots who creates coin-sized artwork. As the complement of Zzz, Wake up! represents reality, it portrays the first thing I see everyday when the first beam of light shines through the window. As the reality we face rules and social orders we have to obey, I decided this artwork should be constructed on a smaller canvas to show the limitation.
Me as a Speaker
March 202312" x 9" x 6"This is about my experience of being banned from speech on the internet in my home country. Speaker represents voices, bird and flowers represent freedom and a variety of perspectives, the camera behind them represents surveillance from the government. The flowers and bird sit in a closable box, which represent government’s attempt to erase different voices, but I will never become numb even if my freedom to speak is taken away, the thoughts I am forced to hold back will eventually break free.
Faced
Foamboard, paper, markers30" x 20"Happy Faced is a participatory artwork I made with the audience, it consists of AI-generated face photos with the audience’s graffiti on them. The title Happy Faced is my expectation for this artwork: art is a way to express, but when our mind desires vandalisation, rules and limitations are holding us back. I hope my artwork is the way to freedom and happiness for the audience, and with the help of technology I can go beyond the boundaries.
Crystallization
Digital10" x 10" x 8"The process of creating an architecture is similar to crystallization: both are the result of time and evolution. Crystals develop into different structures depending on change in temperature, and the variations in architectural styles come from factors like climate, culture and technology. I was inspired by this natural phenomenon, the most common physical change that occurs in polar environments, namely ice and snow, and designed a polar research station inspired by crystals.
Oasis
Wood, paperSIZEA botanical garden inspired by the deathstalker, its ability of baring dehydration makes it the oasis in desert. Despite of its alerting name, studies have shows that its venom has potentials in cancer and diabetes treatment. Finding hope within deadly animals is similar to discovering an oasis in the middle of a dessert. The shape is constructed by triangles, which implies the dangerousness and simplicity of the scorpion,
Venus
Cardboard, metal wire12" x 6" x 5"Inspired by Renaissance painting The Birth of Venus, I designed a conceptual model of an amusement park. The hair, arm and seashell are vaguely defined with the iron wire to describe the movement and excitement of roller coasters tracks, and body parts that represents different rides are raised to different height to add variation to the horizontal view.
Turbine
Filament, wood, styrofoam board9”x 13” x 8”Turbine is a design of a hydroelectric power generating station. The majority of electricity is created by nonrenewable sources that cause the enhanced greenhouse effect. The only way to thrive is to let nature take its lead; humans, as a part of nature, should try to make a change. As a result, I chose conch as the metaphor. We listen to nature's voice through seashell resonance and we make conch horns that create sound.
Moon Jellyfish
Filament, styrofoam 15" x 30" x 20"A science center inspired by jellyfish.
As one of the oldest species on earth, jellyfishes have been floating in the ocean for over 500 million years. From the perspective of human beings, we see feeble jellyfish carried by the tide, but don’t notice how it moves by contrasting its body.
Summer of 1969, humans swam out of the atmosphere, headed toward the moon. Celestials may laugh at the insignificants not able to override destiny, but only we know how giant this float is for mankind.