Paradise Interrupted: Disintegration
Laser cut paper, pigments, acrylic panels
Mikimoto, New York, NY
November 19, 2014 - January 30, 2015

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This triptych painting took inspiration from the installation-opera Paradise Interrupted, a major interdisciplinary work that the artist conceived, designed and directed. 

 

The opera centers on a woman in search of an unattainable ideal in a world that is activated by her voice and breath. This piece, and a subsequent series of work, takes certain elements of the opera and further explores its themes as sculptural painting. 

 

The backs of the acrylic panels are painted with pigments and mirror paints, to create a highly reflective and textured surface with abstracted imagery. The weathered mirror effect allows the viewer to see themselves in the action of looking at the work that is a meditation on the allure and power of illusions. 

 

The front of the panels features a black paper garden in various stages of disintegration, some parts of the paper are sun bleached and loosened by gravity, while other components stay tight and upright. The beauty, fragility and power revealed in the materials is symbolic of the utopian ideal that it represents.

 

A second and separate work is featured in window vignette. A digital projection of fireflies dance on a small version of the paper garden. Fireflies shimmer in flight, creating a playful and dazzling array of swirling lights that draw the viewer in with a sense of magic and delight. 

 

Commissioned by Asia Cultural Council and Mikimoto.