Puffed Rice, Puffed Life, 2020
Chocolate, nut butter, oil, honey, and rice crispies
There's something poetic about this piece. It defeats the purpose of a monument which is supposed to be eternal and long-lasting. My piece is fixed in time and space, but it is edible. It is destructible. In fact, not only will it disappear, but it will be consumed for our own satiation and pleasure. Similarly to actual monuments, this makes it both a hyperpersonal and universal: the structure itself is common and easily identifiable, but the way we experience it is singular.
Initially, this project was about exploring the way in which certain materials occupy space. Through assembly, disassembly, and reassembly, we were meant to understand how a shape goes from the two dimensional plane to a three dimensional sphere. The cube - the most basic geometric solid - was our starting point. From there, harnessing our senses and employing basic math and geometry we were meant to create unique structures each made up of 9 3x3 inch cubes. Wood, plaster, and wire were the three materials we were to use to explore the relationship between mass/volume and space. However, as our circumstances changed (transitioning to online learning due to the coronavirus pandemic), so too did this project.
What began as a methodical and foundational exercise in building and materializing, turned into a metaphor for the tumultuous times we now find ourselves in. Times in which the rigid systems that once upheld us - work, education, commuting, play - have crumbled, slowly disintegrated. We now live in a world of in-between, teetering on the edge of chaos and destruction, but still maintaining to hold onto what little structure - or control - we have left. This piece is a reflection of that: a semblance of solidity, but one that will quickly disappear. It represents the dichotomies our society has been thrust into - or rather have been re-acquainted with. These dichotomies have always existed: the solid vs the soft, rigidity vs pliability, ephemerality vs survival.
The choice to use chocolate and nut butter as my binders was practical, but it blatantly illustrates the polarizing dynamics which dominate our relationships. The rice krispies themselves - that is, each individual crisp - symbolize us humans and what we currently are unable to do; we cannot gather, assemble, remain tightly knit, or solidify together as a community. There is the impression that we still can - through social media and technology - but inevitably we will fall and we will crumble. In fact, we already have.
This project attempts to make light of an unpleasant situation. How fun - and how ironic - is it to build something so rigid out of something that is, by nature, feeble and light? It's as if I am trying to take control of my own erratic emotions, to solidify them in time and space, so that they can cease to overwhelm me. In essence, I am trying to make tangible the intangible.
***
The three locations I chose to depict my final piece in each illustrate a different conception of the dichotomy between what is ephemeral and what is eternal. Placing the piece within The Last Supper plays with the irony of finding ourselves in an epidemic where we are faced with questions of death and the fragility of life. The second picture assumes the piece as a monument, therefore as something that is impressive and grand. However, the location of the Acropolis hints at the decay that will ensue. The third picture was taken from my balcony where I have a beautiful view of my neighborhood and the city skyline farther away. It is an ordinary sight, but lately I have developed a new appreciation for the ordinary, again in response to the uncertainty and privilege which have become apparent during this time. So why not commemorate the ordinary by placing a monumental sculpture in its path? The last picture is just for fun, but it continues my exploration of what is monumental. Here, the piece’s scale is morphed because it is reduced to the size of a plate, therefore misleading the viewer into thinking my piece is small.
