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artist's statement I was supposed to grow up and become a scientist. I ended up doing neither. In college I learned that modern science deals mostly with the realm of the invisible. Microbiology and particle physics tackle items that are too small to be seen; astrophysics explores objects too far to be seen. The processes of modern science are largely cut off from physical experience. I found this distance frustrating, and it is one of the reasons I left the sciences. In this show I imagined some of the theories of modern science as if the only way one could learn about them is to experience them. What if the only way to learn about a black hole was to travel to and through one? The knitted socks with elongated toes are designed to keep the space explorer warm even as space-time stretches out at the brink of a black hole. Many of the pieces in this show are tools reminiscent of those used by a Renaissance world explorer or a nineteenth-century gentleman scholar, such as Darwin aboard his Beagle. Tools of these eras were makeshift yet elaborate, often with decorative elements intertwined with exquisitely specific function. The imaginary tools I create are used for measuring modern concepts. In developing these tools I also use a "feminine" vocabulary of knitting and sewing. If I had to devise my own tools, this is what they would be made of. I also considered the limits of scientific knowledge. Just because you can collect certain data, can you know what it means? The painstaking process of purifying factual information may not end up telling you anything. In the "Translation" series I looked at the limits of symbolic systems. A code which is meant to make a process more efficient can end up taking you farther from the truth. Sheet music inserts a layer of distance from the direct experience of making music. It is like dancing while holding a book in front of your face. Working with Chinese dictionaries expresses a wish. I wish I understood the language of my mother's family, but I am far removed from ever really grasping it. The written language is tantalizing, but endlessly difficult.
© 2001 Sumi Wu |
