If I Warm Her, I Lose Her
Project Description: I created a three-dimensional poem about a snow queen who symbolises the layered emotion of cold and lonely moods.
I sculpted a snow statue and took its photograph that served as the foundation for a 10'/8' diptych which further manifested in various forms such as a tapestry, a photo collage, two pieces of wearable art and a night photo series depicting the ephemeral beauty of the snow sculpture.
Diptych, 10' x 6' Digital Photograph Collage
Outside my North Fork, CA house, I built a female snow sculpture with a crown and skirt made from pear tree trimmings. I inserted dark rocks to create her fierce facial features.
I photographed the Snow Queen and made a highly pixelated digital print. I then used a hole punch to remove every black pixel. Using these extractions, I recreated the Snow Queen on grid paper, referring to it as the foreground piece. I treated each pixel with the precision as if I were a poet using words.
I used the remnants of the digital print to create a second piece referred to as the background that showed the shadow image of the Snow Queen. I created tension by displaying the foreground piece and the background piece side by side, making the frames the exact same size. This display did not allow the eye to favour one frame over the other but forced to see the two pieces simultaneously; separate and united. With this display I highlight the question if we can differentiate ourselves from our backstory.
Tapestry 5'/9' and Photo Collage 4'/7.5'
With a photoshopped image of the snow queen, I designed a tapestry and collaborated with twelve women to manufacture the tapestry. I divided the design in twelve parts and send each part in an envelope with yarn, needle and canvas to all the women.
The twelve women photographed their hands while cross stitching their individual pieces and returned the photo's with the individual embroideries. I worked with the expertise of my three sisters and mother and joined the tapestry pieces and assembled the photo collage of the hands.
I displayed the tapestry hanging freely in space and exposed both the flawless front and complex backside while the photo collection of hands showed the collective effort.
Wearable Art
I created two dresses with zip-ties, one white and one red, representing the snow queen’s journey from marriage to burial. I installed the garments suspended in space inviting viewers to interact by taking selfies, allowing them to embody facets of the snow queen's narrative.
Photo series 24"/24"
I installed twelve photographs of the snow queen at night draped in a reused fir coat, her heart-space illuminated by a candle. This protective aura paradoxically led to negative effects, sparking contemplation with the statement: "If I warm her, I lose her.
