Balsa Wood Small Sculpture

"Duality"

"With abstract art, it's not really about what just happens. With abstract art, we take inspiration from something that is already a thing, and we rearrange the pieces." (Advice from my professor)

Artist Statement:

I will admit that I was quite lost when beginning this project. I felt unfamiliar with the materials and uninterested in the more abstract side of expression, and I found that the only way to change that was to quiet my mind and force myself to blindly experiment. After having just finished my masking tape shoes before beginning this project, I recalled enjoying working with the tape because there were so many possibilities that I encountered. So, I began cutting and rolling strips of tape at different lengths on the tables in the art studio. The tables are old and have been touched by so many students and materials that my tape ultimately picked up small bits of leftover materials and loose wood finish. Instead of feeling disappointed that the tape was no longer clean, I liked the way that the remnants added character to the little rolled tubes. I had initially attached them together to look like a rectangle but decided to cut the ends at an angle to create a curling wave appearance. This was when I realized that I had come full circle from mindless experimentation to the concept I was subconsciously thinking about: manipulation of the natural world.

I was inspired by memories of my mom and I visiting the Atlanta Botanical Gardens over the summer before fall semester. I remembered seeing these large red disks suspended in the air amongst the trees as we drove in, and I was in awe. Walking through the gardens gave me the opportunity to closely and personally observe the various ways that nature can be altered and manipulated to create something beautiful, ugly, or just different. I cut and sanded some circles of balsa wood to mimic those disks and used them to support a contrived ocean wave. I wanted it to appear as though the wave was on display for viewers to look at just as they would view different specimens in a museum. Although symmetry, texture, and rhythm all ended up playing a part in this piece, the primary focus was repetition. I wanted to bring the situation into focus with this piece and show through the use of repetition with the rolled tubes of tape that we consistently make decisions that impact the planet we live on, whether those decisions better or worsen the condition. This was my attempt to visually talk about how we, as humans, have a larger impact on the environment than we generally realize. From what we eat to our decisions on what to throw into the trash or recycle, we are constantly altering the world even though it's not always a visible change. I was also thinking about how much people feel drawn to the ocean and beaches, and I tried to take what people think is beautiful and symbolize through the tape that below the surface of the waves the situation can be quite dismal.

Materials: balsa wood, masking tape, wood glue, straight pins

Dimensions: 4.25" x 8" x 3.88"

In Process Photo: