Untitled
2017
Steel, sycamore branches
8'2" x 7'10" x 7'4"
This piece is going to be part of a larger installation piece I'm working on. I wanted to capture the feeling of practicing Bagua Zhang, an internal art which teaches one how to harmonize with nature. In Bagua Zhang, the practitioner moves in continuous circular and spiraling formations, focusing internally, transforming, and extending beyond oneself. The forms in this piece are all based off movements in Bagua Zhang. I wanted the forms to be reminiscent of trees with the internal (qi) flowing along the outside of the forms and the external (branches) flowing along the inside. Each tree form is slightly different from the next. As the spiraling reservoirs of qi unblock, color spills forth and the texture becomes more fluid, just as the Bagua Zhang practitioner must learn to become fluid in order to harmonize with themselves and connect with their surroundings.