A disturbing fantasy expressed by color, materials, and form is the focus of my current research. Central themes include the portrayal of women, societal pressure, and the grotesque body. Through humor and dreamlike colors that mask and reveal hidden trauma, my pieces explore the concept of self-recognition, self-identity and belonging.
My address of societal pressure is derived, in part, from my personal familial experience of ‘mother’. As a girl, I grew up in urban southern China, with my parents, working hard to support their family who were both absent and present. Through this I experienced what I called “a dual aspect of female independence.” I have personally experienced female independence in my solitary upbringing and witnessed the independence my mother demonstrated in taking on the role typically held by father. My father traveled to worked away from home; I was raised by my mother who also worked full time, I spent my formative years largely independently. Growing older, I was acutely aware of the pressure my mother faced in single-handedly nurturing our family. Being an international student studying in the USA, isolated during covid, echoed the experience of my childhood years. These experiences of independent isolation have sensitized me to the role of societal pressure in contemporary life, specifically for an Asian woman.
Individuals within a group relentlessly seek a sense of self-identification and habitually engage in the binary classification of others into ‘us’ and ‘them’. My work delves into the theme of exclusion and othering. I explore how exclusionary dynamics become apparent and influence societal views and interactions. Such as my work “Us” and “Not me”. From a psychological and moral perspective, my art contemplates society’s aspirations towards concepts of femininity, virginity, and purity. While mothers are often idealized as embodiments of greatness and sanctity, evolutionary theory suggests an inescapable link between this and aspects we find repugnant. For example, presently in China, there exists a significant stigma around menstrual and sexual shame, reflecting a clash between the sanctified image of womanhood and harsh reality. This is pitted against the pursuit of the constraints imposed on female identity, the persisting notion that a woman’s completeness hinges on her marital status or motherhood, and the prevalent feelings of insecurity and fear experienced by women grappling with expectations.
In the work titled: “Escape”, a tall stool uses wire to connect the legs and the top. The legs of this stool mimic human legs exaggerated and contorted unnaturally and raising the tips of the feet to an elevated height, amplifying imbalance, and insecurity. The feeling is similar to a that of a girl (myself) trying on high heels for the first time. Glaze mimics skin for the stool’s surface, the back of the stool is intense red. The top of the stool is smooth and bright. Two of the feet do not touch the floor; the piece is unbalanced and movable. The contrast between imbalance and control adds tension to the piece. In recent work, I choose to focus on the deconstruction of familiar elements of the human body – skin, hair, and other bodily parts – encouraging viewers to perceive these subjects from an objectified perspective.
Clay and the soft material of wool felt are my main material in my practice, that evoke a sense of naturalness and to embody the essence of womanhood, childhood, and motherhood. Wool felt imparts a gentle and protective sensation reminiscent of the deep bond between a mother and her child. Wool in my sculpture also symbolizes human skin, serving as a metaphor for the objectification of this natural covering. Clay connects me to story from my past, in Chinese folklore, whereby a goddess fashions a human from mud – an ancient connection to the raw material of life itself.
Louise Bourgeois and Mona Hatoum have been in an inspiration for my current body of work. Louise Bourgeois’s use of soft dolls to depict childhood trauma, transforming objects that typically symbolize protection, innocence, and joy to represent the darker aspects of the adult world. My inspiration from Mona Hatoum derived from her contemplation of the living environment and expressed feelings of insecurity and uncertainty through her work, her exploration of the relationship between sculpture and the body and, her exploration of dualism. Theoretically, Julia Kristeva’s analysis of abjection has been an important framework for my practice. I chose to focus on the deconstruction of familiar elements of the human body as I encourage viewers to perceive these subjects from an objectified perspective.
Qian Shen 