Mater-ials, USC Roski MFA Thesis (2022)

overview

what

MATER-IALS IS AN EXHIBITION ABOUT WHAT IT MEANS TO HAVE A CONSCIOUS ART PRACTICE THAT IS LED AND INFLUENCED BY ORGANIC FORMS AND ORGANISMS. USing MYCELIUM, THE TREE OF THE MUSHROOM, AS A BASIS FOR my ARTISTIC PRACTICE. THIS BODY OF WORK CONSISTS OF PRINTS, WORKS ON PAPER, AND SCULPTURES THAT ARE COMPRISED OF NATURAL MATERIALS AND ALTERNATIVE PROCESSES.

DRAWING ON my EXPERIENCES OF TIME SPENT IN my GRANDMOTHER’s GARDEN AS A CHILD, I FOUND THAT WHEN GROWING AND COLLECTING MATERIALS FOR THE MYCELIUM I HAD TO BE MINDFUL OF HOW I WAS MAINTAINING Their GROWTH. THIS LED me TO ASK myself ‘WHAT CAN AN ARTISTIC PRACTICE THAT CONSISTS OF MOTHERLY QUALITIES SUCH AS LOVE, CARE, AND PROTECTION LOOK LIKE?’ AS A WHOLE, the EXHIBITION MATER-IALS TOUCHES ON TOPICS OF NURTURING, ALTERNATIVE MATERIALS, AND PROCESSES.

my role

My main RESPONSIBILITIES consisted of creating art with organic materials.

team

I had the privilege of collaborating with my exceptionally talented Thesis Committee throughout this process. My deepest gratitude to Amelia Jones, Thomas Muller, and Jenny Lin for their guidance and support.

background + research

I drew from the concepts of biodiversity, co-productive relationships, and animism, explored in the books Finding the Mother Tree, Braiding Sweetgrass, and The Mushroom at the End of the World. My research centered around the critical theme of interrelationships, connecting these ideas to highlight the deep interconnectedness of ecosystems and human interaction with nature.