As I watched the interviews of different contemporary artists on Art21, I was inspired by Jes Fan’s idea of challenging the beauty standard through his sculpture work. His sculptures question the thin line between aesthetics and grotesque as he incorporates biological materials like piss and blood into his glass, silicon, and resin mixture. Through his work, he wants to challenge the common perception of beauty set for race and gender and how it is associated with suspension. I’m interested in how he uses science to create art, exploring different substances to construct his own idea of beauty. I also feel related to the idea of suppression and rebellion in his work and how he wants to address the unrealistic beauty standard.
I’m also drawn by Doreen Garner’s idea of sculpting traumatic experiences, which are mostly related to the body. She wants to demonstrate how the failure of one organ can cause the whole body to fall, as was her sister’s experience. I find her process of creating human organs and body parts from mold-making techniques and mixed media very interesting to learn from. Her works look so real and vivid that it helps to create a haunting impression of traumas. Through her work, she also wants to voice the race issue and use it as a way to address the brutal acts made against Black women.