DESIGN CHALLENGE 1 : PIGGY BANK

pink piggy bank determination coins sounds

TREE: color green

scrubbing pads, 18"x6"x 4 1/4"

Emily Carr 2009/2010 viewbook

3-D installation entitled "Security Blanket" was included in Emily Carr Viewbook 2009/2010 on page 26. This photo was shot at the lobby of King's Landing, North False Creek.

ECUAD Foundation Show 2009

Foundation Show at Emily Carr University of Art and Design is a culmination of the first year of work from Emily Carr's newest students. April 17 to 25, 2009

Security Blanket

I revised the project inspired by Tara Donovan's work, bringing the previous one into another level of complexity and sophistication of idea. I added a new element of flexibility to give the sculppture an active quality.

Rather than gluing each cup with hot glue, I joined each styrofoam cup with fishing line to make it flesible. Sewing the cups with fishing line was an excellent choice since it is transparent for the viewers and the process was less time consuming that using hot glue. Eventually, I ended up making a piece the size of a single bed of styrofoam cups which reminded me of a security blanket that I had used in my childhood.

This extremely flexible sulpture is easily adaptable to any kind of environment; I can either cover myself with the blanket or put it on any surface of furtniture or even rocks. I basically produced a sculpture that has a dynamic relationship with both the audience and myself. I believe this piece of art provokes a strong desire to wear it and offers the audience the exceptional visual excitement of observinc the organic pattern of the white cups.

untiled - white plastic cups

Attracted by Donovan’s unusual artistic style of accumulation, I incorporated common everyday object to create an incredibly organic sculpture that is suggestive in a shape of a single cell organism.
I basically wrapped my body with small white plastic cups to create a visual representation of a single cell organism such as an amoeba. Also, it has a dynamic relationship with myself since it is wearable and provides me a small resting place from a fast-paced world. The white cups around my body suggest my purity and sense of innocence and seem to embrace me and protect my body. By one wearing this sculptural piece, it covers up one’s ethnicity and identity, breaking down the racial barrier that exists among people.
This whole project required an extensive amount of energy and was a very time consuming project. Not only did I have to pay great attention to assembling each cup, I consistently did try on the sculpture to get a general fit of the sculpture onto my body, while also considering the aesthetic appeal of this organic structure. Since each cup has a thick round edge and a depth, the repetitive use of cups created a strong visual pattern and volume that are reminiscent of a beehive, allowing me to learn the power of accumulation using same materials. Ultimately, this project has allowed me to appreciate the prominent artist’s work and view it as a stepping stone to find my own artistic style and interest in contemporary art.

One4One - a group juried exhibition at Maple Ridge Art Gallery

Wastebasket 2 Go, mixed media 2008

My recent mixed media sculpture, Wastebasket 2 Go, is now on display at Maple Ridge Gallery, located at 11944 Haney Place, Maple Ridge. It was selected for One 4 One, a group juried exhibition organized by Maple Ridge Gallery. The subtext of the title One 4 One intends to convery that there is "one piece of art for everyone." This exhibit is being held from October 25 to December 6, 2008.

http://www.theactmapleridge.org/

BY THE BOOK - Creative Interactions with Literature

Port Moody Art Center

(photos by Jason V. , from Alcuin Society's photostream)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/alcuinsociety/sets/72157608575191827/

BY THE BOOK : Creative Interactions with Literature has been on display in the month of October 2008 at the Port Moody Library, City Hall and the Port Moody Art Center. This show was organized by Artist Circle of ArtsConnect, the Tri-City Arts Council, in order to celebrate Canadian Library Month, and enhance creative interactions with books. Path to Maturity, 3-D mixed media sculpture was exhibited at Port Moody Art Centre during October.

www.nathania.com/bythebook.html

Melting Monument

While I was waiting the candles for my first candle wax artwork, Celebration of Maturity, to melt down, I created another artwork called Melting Monument which is an abstract form of monument for melting icebergs. I created an iceberg structure with chicken wire and then placed approximately 15 white candle sticks in the small gaps between the wires. As the candles in the structure melt down, they created a huge island of candle wax as if to symbolize the melting ice due to global warming. With this particular artwork, I could capture the current stage of life of an iceberg at the North Pole. The candle residue also created some interesting and intriguing patterns on chicken wire. Also, I hope the hollowness of its structure cautions the viewers that we as the members of society need to protect our nature and preserve it well so that our future generation can enjoy its beauty.
Also, I realized about the importance and preciousness of preserving nature. I learned a valuable message that once we have destroyed it, we can not bring it back.

new artwork

In My Memory 2007 mixed media

Futuristic 2007 mixed media sculpture

My intention was to create several groupd of 3D objects which look like 2-dimensional painting. For futuristic image, three 3D cubes were made with bamboo stick. Dried branches in 3 bright flourescent colors give glowing effect. 3 oval-shaped silver rings with abract image represents the space, while curved yellow line reminds me of yellow line on a curved road. I love the combination of white, metallic, bright fluorescent colors in dark background. By arranging cube, oval, square objects to look edgy, organic, and dynamic. I experience an amazing travel to the unknown space in my imagination.

Who Killed the Electric Cars? 2007 Gal kid medium on the print

I developed this work from one of the current controversal social issues in automobile industry, which I have a deep interest in. The short documentary film titled "Who killed the electric cars?" inspired me to start this project. In 1996 GM introduced an elctric car called EV1 and started to lease them to the public. However, this car project didn't seem to benefit their business partner, Shell, becasue it didn't consume any fuel. In 2003 GM suddenly announced that the lease of EV1 would discontinue. Instead, GM started to put huge investment on the development of hydrogen cars in partnership with Shell for better profit. It was a result of conflict between Eco-friendly vs. Economy. The leasers of EV1 expressed their anger and grief by publickly performing the funeral of EV1.

As a future car designer, I felt sympathetic wtih developers and users of EV1 about the death of the EV1. In memory of the discontinued model, I would like to created something special In this artwork, I applied several layers of Gal kid on the picture which displayed the piles of crushed EV1's, expressing depression, frustration and sadness. I want to convey the message that EV1 remain only in memory. Who made the Electric Cars? Who killed the Electric Cars? That's the irony.