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Thesis Info
- LABS ID
- 00770
- Thesis Title
- Silicone Love – Her Garden
- Author
- Chun Shao
- E-mail
- chunshao911 AT gmail.com
- 2nd Author
- 3rd Author
- Degree
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Year
- 2019
- Number of Pages
- 103
- University
- University of Washington
- Thesis Supervisor
- Richard Karpen
- Supervisor e-mail
- Other Supervisor(s)
- Afroditi Psarra, James Coupe, Juan Pampin
- Language(s) of Thesis
- English
- Department / Discipline
- Center for Digital Arts and Experimental Media
- Copyright Ownership
- Languages Familiar to Author
- URL where full thesis can be found
- Keywords
- Mixed media installation, e-textiles, data-driven art, post-Internet aesthetics, Chinese gardens and Chinoiserie research.
- Abstract: 200-500 words
- Silicone Love – Her Garden is a mixed media installation representing a conceptual figure: an Internet ghost. It is a metaphor applied to the explore aesthetic properties of online videos. The work emphasizes on deeming web-based footage as an atmosphere rather than a single visual object as in film. A result of studio-based practice, the installation consists of eight video mapped hanging sculptures and a surrounding sound system. Inspired by the form of the Chinese garden, the work revives the ancient architectural theory termed Borrowed Scenery. A circular frame is applied and variated to create rhythms of seeing in relation to distance, perspective, and changing lights. The sculptures, moving images, and sound spatialization are structured to encourage playful voyeurism.
The narrative structure approaches YouTube as an ever-growing database of lifelike videos. Applying both digital and traditional hand crafting techniques, the “ghost” is then realized as a hybrid form of soft sculpture creating volume from projected light. This work transforms online footage into a fictional site, triggering poetic meanings in a viewer’s mind.