Yiyi Han is an interdisciplinary sculpture student in MICA who uses multiple media to create art works. She is interested in using space and sensors to sculpt certain state of mind and emotion. Meanwhile, she wishes to seek all the answers to the world through the process of making art works.
Project Overview
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THE INVISIBLE BODY is inspired by the Chinese philosopher Zhuangzi’s dialectical thoughts on existence and inexistence. By using cameras and a projector as another perspective, Han creates another self on the screen to demonstrate how we can see ourselves in real time. She wonders, how often do we look for attention and reflections in others to receive a proof of existence and a sense of security? When the self sees a transparent reflection in the space with other people and objects imprinted upon it, we wonder what we have ignored about ourselves and our existence in the space.
Process
Working on this project requires coding skills and knowledge of devices. It was intense in the beginning to set up all the devices and make sure they will work with each other at once. Thinking thoroughly and getting well prepared are the keys to go forward. Another important skill that requires is trouble shooting. It needs patience and time to solve the problems. After all, it was great to see what imagination comes true to life.
Presentation
The title of this piece is calledTHE INVISIBLE BODY.
As thinking of the story of Zhuang Zi. He had a dream of becoming butterfly, and he couldn’t identify himself if either he was a butterfly who dreams of being a human or a human who dreams of being a butterfly. This makes Han to think of how we can prove out identity, and how we are aware of body as we move it in the space everyday.
There is one artist who caught her attention: Antony Gormley. He deformed and reformed his own body with different material. Gormley perfectly explained how our existence transformed between materials and how we can appreciate the interaction between the body and space. So she decided to create a digital self in the real time, which allows all the audiences to see themselves in the space, to feel the transformation from light to flesh bodies, then to the space in front of them. This project needed coding skills to achieve. This was a screen shot of the finished effect. By using cameras and overlapping command, the person was able to see the space that’s contain inside of her body. In another word, her body became transparent and “invisible”.The finished piece makes Han to rethink her relationship to the space and other people. She realizes that no matter how the body becomes “invisible”, the existence it is still reflected by others. She was really interested in creating a three dimensional self in the real time.Thanks to Ryan Hoover, Annet Couwenberg and Margaret MacDonald who helped with the process of building the concept, getting facilities, and space in the exhibition. Huge thanks to Alan Grover who helped with coding. Thanks to all the classmates who were very inspiring through the whole semester.
