Nest
As an artist, I find creative making to be the most efficient form of expressive communication. Many of my artistic decisions are based on personal research and life experience, and the form or medium is usually decided through that discovery. Drawing inspiration from the visuality of my environment, I find tranquility in contemplation and observation. Working with materials that I can harvest or process myself is fundamental to my current practice. I intend to express a sense of connection between nature and myself.
NEST is inspired by manmade hand-woven structures and the form and process encountered in weaver’s nests of birds.
In creating these works, the character and color of my materials were left to chance; I couldn’t predict what colors and textures I would find as I sourced materials from the world around me.
I just knew the ultimate purpose and form would be inspired by the habitats and homes of the weaver birds. And that is to contain and to hold. A place to come to rest and lay one’s head, and for me, on a more poetic level, ephemeral portals to our imagination.
The materials used and the fashion in which they are used are in consideration to the ecological detriment the textile industries have caused worldwide. Through the lens of an entity that perceives this damage from a bird’s eye view, I challenge the conventionality of the textiles used by recreating the idea of a natural home or nest, and the frequency of man-made materials being placed in the structures of nests.
Materials: Assortment of Recycled Fabrics
Creation Year: 2023
Size: Range from 3ft x 2.5ft x 2.5 ft to 16in x 7in x 7in
Photography by Tian Yang