Bug World

Umwelt [sim] is an audio-visual simulation of the installation work, Umwelt, originally commissioned by curator Fram Kitagawa for the 2019 Shanghai Urban Space Art Season (SUSAS). Based on the samples taken from the Chongming Island National Forest Park near Shanghai, the artist virtually reconstructed the natural landscape through digital technology, then designed a computer vision system to observe this virtual environment. The main structure with the four screens in the installation can be considered as a metaphor for the "tree" which supports the constant exchange and transfer of matter and energy in the environment. In this parallel simulated reality, the screens hanging in different directions perform the role of mirrors, reflecting the visual landscape shared by both human and machine.

A part of a series of paintings that explore and challenge ideas of masculinity. These paintings center on masc presenting figures who are in states of dress and environments that lead to new avenues of existing, in hopes of neutralizing the toxicity within manhood, expanding its definitions into something new and healthier. The settings are vast, fantastical, and imaginative spaces that allow room for growth and new horizons to be discovered while still full of their challenges and dangers."

A part of a series of paintings that explore and challenge ideas of masculinity. These paintings center on masc presenting figures who are in states of dress and environments that lead to new avenues of existing, in hopes of neutralizing the toxicity within manhood, expanding its definitions into something new and healthier. The settings are vast, fantastical, and imaginative spaces that allow room for growth and new horizons to be discovered while still full of their challenges and dangers."

With powerful photographic portraits infused with aesthetics of Americana, vast swaths of color rooted in history and culture, and interactive texts that challenge what is personal and political. In her own words, this work is a reflection of Brown’s world and what it means to exist as a young, black, American woman in a time where everything feels uncertain. In response to both personal events and political systems, A Brown Millennial exists to invite viewers into the contemplations and worries that consume the artist. Images from the past are a window into the present. The installation is built with urgent simultaneousness that can only be described as the reality of any millennial grappling with these intersectional issues. Representation and beauty within an American context are taken on powerfully through her portraits transforming textiles and the body; the overwhelming effects of mass incarceration on the black community are explored vulnerably; the diminishing awareness of ancestral practices that were erased through slavery and the great migration are alluded to through cultural signifiers from her homes of New Orleans and New Mexico. The reality of privilege is unpacked elegantly, and real questions are asked of the viewer.

With powerful photographic portraits infused with aesthetics of Americana, vast swaths of color rooted in history and culture, and interactive texts that challenge what is personal and political. In her own words, this work is a reflection of Brown’s world and what it means to exist as a young, black, American woman in a time where everything feels uncertain. In response to both personal events and political systems, A Brown Millennial exists to invite viewers into the contemplations and worries that consume the artist. Images from the past are a window into the present. The installation is built with urgent simultaneousness that can only be described as the reality of any millennial grappling with these intersectional issues. Representation and beauty within an American context are taken on powerfully through her portraits transforming textiles and the body; the overwhelming effects of mass incarceration on the black community are explored vulnerably; the diminishing awareness of ancestral practices that were erased through slavery and the great migration are alluded to through cultural signifiers from her homes of New Orleans and New Mexico. The reality of privilege is unpacked elegantly, and real questions are asked of the viewer.

Relying on drawing, painting, and wearable sculpture, Visibly Unseen explores the lack of agency individuals often have over their identity and the projections of otherness within our society. These figures masquerade themselves as avatars within fantastical environments, reflecting contemporary participation in fantasy culture to escape reality. Typical for many people who experience being othered, this fictional place is no true escape as these masked figures simultaneously experience the all too common hypervisibility and erasure of their identity. The cross-discipline approach within this series blurs the lines between fiction and reality even further by bringing the masks within the drawings and paintings into physical space. Visibly Unseen does not aim to fix problems, give justice, or answer questions. Instead, it directs conversations and attention to situations and environments that blur the lines of race, gender, ethnicity, and culture's beautiful, imperfect, syncretic nature—springboarding dialogue about these topics' complexities and fluidity. Visibly Unseen stands in direct contrast and opposition to the oversimplified hegemonic concepts regarding identity in the United States.

The digital world is pushing the boundaries of what is possible. Detached from the physical and material world, Janina Au wants to explore how the digital realization and modeling in 3D effects the wearing and perception of jewelry and jewelry design.