The surfaces of the Cylinder depict many different narratives. I aim to tell stories that everyone can relate to in some way – the stories rhyme with things viewers may have thought of once, sights they may have seen, dreams they have had, and dreams they would like to come true. The paper people moving across the Cylinder are having interactions with one another. They are experiencing emotions, thinking, wondering, observing, feeling, relating, and ultimately structuring their space. It is a space where a viewer and witness and can feel these same emotions. Even while individual viewers enter the space of the Cylinder alone, they are not by themselves. Inside this space, viewers have the choice of where to look, whom to understand, and which emotions or experiences to partake in. This is a glorious world, one where many silhouetted figures exist on one of two planes.
White silhouettes emerge and disappear as the viewer walks around the cylinder. The sheer fabric invites the viewer to understand the inside of the cylinder with more clarity – however complete clarity is not understood from the outside. From the outside, the viewer is only exposed to one world, as all the visible silhouettes are white.
Upon entering the Cylinder, the white figures transform. Visible on one plane is a population of white figures that shift into a dreamy indigo blue – and now an iridescent gold – and now blue – and gold. Interacting with these luminous bodies is another population of colorful and textured silhouettes. These generous bodies encircle the viewer, and a greater understanding of this world is available from here – inside it.
I offer viewers the opportunity to discover something beyond their preliminary perception and assessment – something that can be experienced only once one’s point of view and perspective have shifted. I imagine that the paper people enjoy their own experiences with others inside this dimension. As the silhouettes disappear and reappear, I am reminded of people I see – and the people I do not or cannot see – people whom I remember or dream of – people whom I haven’t met yet. These people are not present here, but they are all real – occupying different spaces, forms, or times, but they are real.
Installation, 2016
