winter mantid hybrids
A series of soft sculptures in the theme of morphing and transformation, with influences from fashion evolution & body modifications, the plant-mimicking Orchid Mantis and science fiction author Octavia Butler's visions of future humanness.
Butler’s trilogy Lilith’s Brood describes a post-apocalyptic world where humanity struggles to adapt to its new environment by merging with alien species and taking on new forms. The voluminous traditional robes of the Korean Joseon dynasty, as depicted by painter Shin Yun Bok, often overpower the shape of the human body with a plant-like excess, bringing to mind Han Kang’s The Vegetarian, in which her protagonist yearns to become a tree and subsume her humanity. Avant-garde contemporary label Blindness challenges the performance of gender, sampling from clothing past and present with a sculptural boldness.
The mantid hybrids mix these influences , as a hermaphroditic alien body/ shell/ skin that blends insect with mammal, as well as a harness/ prosthetic that hints at being worn.
Developed in Grey Projects' 2019 Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Goyang Residency and first shown as part of MMCA's 2019 artists in residence exhibition.
Above: Images courtesy of MMCA Goyang, Korea, and artists' own
Below: Video of installation in Sala de Arte Joven, Madrid