My classmate Zhenyu and I created this sculpture for our UW sculpture class project focusing on mixed media transformations.

We used dowels and wire to build a supportive frame that did not follow the shape of the body, but instead went straight through the would-be torso. Around the wooden support we used wire to build a curving back, to which we glued crumpled-up paper to build up mass. We left the torso area empty as an interior space, choosing to highlight the structural supports. They create strong, rigid lines which contract nicely with the curving organic shapes making up the rest of the piece.

We used plaster and strips of thin cloth to build a hard shell around the amassed paper. I particularly focused on building the back muscles using sand paper and metal tools. We also used wire to outline the shapes of the forearm and hands. The black wire against the white plaster created an interesting contrast.

For the exhibit, we created drawings of the sculpture from different angles. We placed our drawings around the center area of the exhibit, so that the viewer would see the drawing and the sculpture at the angle that the drawing was drawn from. I emphasized important aspects of our sculpture by writing the phrases “connection” (in reference to the connections between all the different materials used), and “empty space” (in reference to the gap between the solid back and the interior supports, which highlight the missing torso). Throughout this project, I really enjoyed the interaction between solid forms and the see-through forms made of loose wire.