Midterm Proposal

Midterm Project Self Portrait

Concept

I decide to work with ice. There are several reasons why I chose this material based on its qualities. Ice is a common material that we can easily find, and we use them on a daily base. We all know that 70% of our body consists of water, and when it turns into ice, it suddenly gains the subtlety. Because I have a Buddhist background, the process how water freezes into ice and ice melt into water is just like meditation, during which I would try to introspect as well as discover my inner self. Besides, my interpretation of the concept of self-portrait is not just about my own individuality as a person, but a broader "selfness" as a human being. The fact that ice and water would finally evaporate into the form of gas, leaving an emptiness, and then this whole water cycle keeps going on and on; it is so similar to the cycle of life and regeneration of mankind.

The ice is going to be in the shape of hands with different colors. There will be seven of them each with one color from the rainbow. The reason why they appear in the hand-like form is that I am an artist and I create works with my hands. Seven colors of the rainbow represent that I am a visual artist and I produce works related to color studies through vision.

Medium

food pigment extracted from fresh fruits and vegetable
water/ice
plastic gloves single use
mirror
spotlight
refrigerator
prism

Timeline

10/13  buy fruits and vegetable for food dye extraction
         do the extraction and keep them in the gloves
         freeze the liquid down in the refrigerator
10/14  do an experiment and document the process
10/15  edit the video

10/17  make more ice and bring to the lab refrigerator to restore

Presentation

The presentation is going to take place in a completely dark room. There will be a circular mirror platform on the table, and the seven rainbow-colored hand-shaped ice are stacked on the mirror. A spotlight will be hanging from the ceiling and focus on the ice and mirror. Several clear glass prisms will be placed amongst the ice. Ideally, there will be multiple reflections and refraction of rainbows on the wall.

After the presentation, each audience will get a part of the ice that tastes different fruit or vegetable flavors.

    

Challenges

This project is not easy to construct in the technical aspect. First is how to obtain different food pigments in rainbow colors and maintain the color. The second challenge is to install the whole installation and adjust the light and position to create the atmosphere. Also, because it is a time-lapse project, the documentation is another challenge.