Caitlin Lopez, Student Work

Fragile

packing tape, foam board, tracing paper, gel medium

18" x 26" x 12"

Artist Statement:

The artwork emphasizes transparency in order to represent the fragility of both the natural world and the man-made world, as well as the relationship between the two. Some may perceive mountains and ocean are indestructible because of their imposing size as and seemingly timeless presence, but humans can quickly destroy countless miles of forest, reshape landscapes, and change the entire system of the ocean. On the other hand, living in Florida, I have seen tornadoes and many hurricanes and know that nature could just as easily destroy the human world.

I chose to make the buildings of a small city out of clear packaging tape to emphasize the fragility of humans. The mountains are made out of delicate layers of semi-transparent tracing paper to represent the fragility of nature. The two environments extend from opposite sides of the same plane to represent their relationship. I chose to show the underside of the mountain forms in order to force the viewer to confront the hollow fragility of them. The forms also resemble craters which threaten to consume the city on the other side.