Coronator

was a mixed media wearable sculpture performance work, done at Chung Shan Creative Hub, Jut Foundation for Art & Architecture (URS-21) in Taipei, Taiwan, in January and February of 2014. During my residency at Taipei Artist Village, I researched the environmental and political situation in Taiwan. I arrived at a concept of a work addressing plants of Taiwan that are considered endangered or impacted by human or environmental stress. Metaphorically, this could be interpreted as the political and territorial vulnerability of Taiwan. This work coincidentally occurred shortly before the Taiwan student protest in 2014, named the "Sunflower Movement".

I created large scale leaf-sculptures based on selections from endangered plants and trees from Taiwan. The skeletons of the sculptures were made from bamboo, and the skin from recyclable paper. 17 leaves in all, each featured an attached vest, allowing the piece to be comfortably worn on the back, and allowed mobility. The project involved many volunteers, local art students, and the Taipei arts community.

The final performance featured a sequence timed to composed music (played live by local musicians the Dronetonics) . The performance took place in the large courtyard park of the CSCH Art Center in central Taipei. Similar to the Osani Circle Game children play in central Africa (Efé children of the Ituri Forest in Zaire), each volunteer wore a leaf which ended in a conjoined circle, as if making a consolidated crown in a ceremonial act as in a coronation. The performance began before twilight, and as the night progressed, video of candle flames were projected on the translucent paper of the 'leaves" as they paraded. The multi-media performance heightened the idea of impermanence and belief in community, kinship, and preservation. 100 percent of the materials used in this project were recycled.

(...for videos below, double-click for full screen)