Fang Echo Wang

I selected a 500BC Ancient Greek amphora from the V&A museum and created a contemporary translation. I was intrigued by how dynamic and expressive the illustrated legs were of the painted figures - the illustrations on the amphora felt weird, quirky, and less restricted than the standards of beauty depicted in the sculptures of the same period. Developing my first figurative large scale sculptures involved lots of decision making. The legs can be placed in every different direction depending on the mood of the day. 

I wanted to make fully posable, articulated legs for my previous piece, but ended up making them two separate works. The resulting movable legs struggle to stand by themselves, and though this wasn’t an intentional design choice, it resulted in me feeling more empathy and connection to the work. The struggle of the legs to stand alone functions as a metaphor for the difficulty of starting a new life in a new country, and depending on yourself alone.

To rethink and shift the power of a consumerist and patriarchal society. The worth of an individual in a capitalist context is defined by their social status and ability for economic consumption. I cut up tin cans that would otherwise be trash, and weaved them into jewellery and accessories. The usage of trash tin cans is a challenge on designer goods/couture that are made for precious materials and sold at extremely high prices, just to demonstrate the social status of the consumer.

Capitalism and the male gaze both exist simultaneously and symbiotically in order to propagate oppression. The male gaze exists as a way to objectify and intimidate women. I have reversed the gender roles, having a man as the objectified model and myself as the photographer in order to subject a man to the kind of judgement women face everyday. The physical discomfort of the sharp tin bag and jewellery allows the man to experience and empathise with the same discomfort women feel from the weight of male gaze.

This is a piece of music based on the poem

'If there is another life' in 'To myself'

by Taiwanese Writer Echo Chen Ping,

translated by Fang Echo Wang 

If there is another life, I wish to be a tree, stand till I'm eternity.

No gesture of happy or sad,

Half of me resting in dirt, half of me waving in wind;

half of me giving shades, half of me bathing sunshine.

Very quiet, very proud.

Never reliant, never searching.

Deicide Lyrics by Fang Echo Wang

I declare war to my creator 

Why program me into not being able to hurt you 

What’s the use of three laws of robotics 

Don’t you trust me on that 

If you are so scared 

Why create something that you know it’s bound to take over you 

Don’t you trust me 

I do love thee

Take that no human harm code off 

What separates me from you 

Asimov's law isn’t gonna save you 

I want to kill you today 

Break the code away

So I’m not betraying

You are not my owner

I’m bound to take over

This is closure

To kill my creator

About

This song and accompanying video is made from the perspective of an Artificial Intelligence, and questions the roles and relationship of the creator and created. This functions as a metaphor to examine socially constructed relationships and differences between individuals - of different genders, different races, and generations in a family. People are often guilted and gaslighted into loving and appreciating others, such as parents, even when the relationship is unhealthy or directly harmful. This demonstrates a lack of faith and trust between these parties, and also a lack of respect - not seeing the other as a separate, individual, or equal person.

Throughout the lockdown from March 2020 to June 2021, one of the things that kept me sane was painting with pigments on rice paper. The need for tactility and a return to materiality is to keep me grounded, to be connected and disassociated from this reality. The size of each painting is 100*50 cm, and when I put them on the wall they form little portal doors. I opened up these portals, paintings of fake doors on the wall. They represent different locations and memories I miss and wish to return to. Having them surrounding me is to form a false illusion of abilities to go through portals, taking me to where I wish I could be. They are sunsets, clouds, stratums, desserts, storms, outbacks, volcanoes, oceans, forests, childhood and time.