The Unraveling (Final Project)

—the art of letting go—

This final project stemmed from the idea of the fetal position as simultaneously one of the most powerless, surrendered, vulnerable and secured, loved, protected physical position human beings can be in. I wanted to depict this honest state of being humbled.

Yet, also I wanted to illustrate the act of opening up and stepping into further vulnerability from this very vulnerable position. I wanted to parallel what happens in our mother's womb, where we long, cling, and let go in a dream-like state— where we are completely surrendered.

The white cloth background and clothes were chosen to strip down into a bare simplicity and purity and so that the audience's eyes would be directed to the limbs, movement, and face of the subjects. I asked people I knew if they would like to take part in my project as models and surprisingly, many people were willing to and had white clothes to go along with it. Originally, I had intended for men to also be a part of this project, but many of them didn't have white clothes. So, this project also became a portrayal of femininity (I guess I can't get away from creating artwork to empower and represent women).

I lay down the silk cloth – which added an element of elegance and alluded to sleep and a comfortable position – outside and set up my tripod and camera on the second floor where I stood on a bench to take the videos and pictures. It was quite scary standing up there, but worth it. I filmed around ten different women, all friends who were kind to participate in this, and I gave them little direction: "get in fetal position facing the left and move around until you open up to the most open position you can think of." It was so beautiful and fascinating to see the different ways the girls moved and even some of them returned to fetal position on the other side of the blanket then opened up again. I engaged with each of them personally and explained the concept to them.

I edited the video and made each frame into slow-motion, placing different videos to show diversity. I did not add many effects (except for color editing and fixing) so that this video was simple and raw. Then I ordered the photographs from the Reprographics office and when I got them, they were not all the photos I had ordered. But I worked with what I got and this was when the limitation turned into an act of creativity, for I saw the different connections of motion in the different girls' photos and decided to connect them all in one moving picture. The collage that came out of experimenting different ways to assemble it turned out to look like a bird's wings, which added more movement, freedom, and flight to the whole aesthetic. I was debating whether or not I should add the paintings, but those covered the fire-escape sign and outlet as well give an overview of the whole fetal position to open position progression of a "person," unlike the other collaged elements.

The projection of the video on the photographs added a 3-dimensional, more personal aspect to the audience's experience. It brought an ephemeral, evolving element.

Hearing the feedback and looking at my work after it was finished, I wish I had given more thought to the progression of different people in my video, so that variety is shown more clearly. I also wish I had created a loop for the video, so that it could keep going. There is more to than just one showing of an art project, and we must think of the small details as to how it would be in longer exhibition as well.

Throughout this project, I learned endlessly about the connection of body and spirit and how postures give expression to the attitudes of our hearts. The unraveling of the physical body may represent and inspire our spiritual selves to release our burdens and find true freedom. I hope to continue exploring this interweaving of the physical and spiritual in my future art projects!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cp8fhnWfN6s