Shiyao
When I was in college, I got an opportunity to make a public art. My choice was the big stair in front of student union - it was my favorite spot for meditating. Besides me, I rarely saw anyone use or sit on the stair. The charming stair seemed lonely and wasted.
It reminded me of the large stair installed in Time Sqaure, New York. Whenever I visited New York, my favorite thing to do was to sit on the stair and observe the busy city. Campus is also a busy place, people often walk by very fast, hardly reserve anytime for themselves to take a break under the sun. For this reason, I wanted to attract people to this stair and want to remind them to reserve some leisure time for themselves no matter how busy they are. I also noticed many introverts like to eat alone at the corners of school cafe; if I turn this stair into a more welcoming space, then they could enjoy their meal here.
The only way to attract people is to do it yourself first. But since I cannot be there all the time, I came up with the idea of installing colorful figures on the stairs. I wanted each figure to have a different shape of head and color, which represent different way of thinking and personality. I wanted to send out a message that anyone is welcome to sit here, doesn’t matter who you are and how "weird" you are. My goal was to turn this shady, lonely and wasted place into a bright, harmonious and functional place.
I wanted the figures to be at different postures, and each posture has a relax and chill looking. I visited the stair a few times, and found out what were some possible postures I could do on top of the stair. Then I drew out the figures I had in my mind.
I wanted to create life-size sculptures that are light-weighted. I came across the idea of paper mache, and decided to give it a try. I bought four packs of chicken wire, and start to use myself as a mannequin to model different part of body of the figure. Then I connected each body parts together to create a whole figure. After the figure was modeled, I apply news paper with glue on top and let each piece of paper to try out, then keep applying another layer. It was extremely time consuming, and I had to take rest a lot in between. However, seeing it become something from nothing encouraged me to keep making. I spent an average of 10 hours a day working on the process, and it took five days to finish.
I picked a sunny day to install my sculptures on the stair. Almost immediately, they attracted people from all directions. There were many students who stopped by and took photos and had a fun time. I also noticed many people who specifically chose the stair to have a picnic or snack. Seeing how the colorful sculptures evoked social interactions made me happy. The manager who was working in the Student Union building came up to me and asked me if I could just leave the sculptures on the stair permanently, because they have noticed so many positive interactions than ever. Before this, almost no one use the space. Now from their office window, they could see people interacting with each other and it also made them happy. I was shocked how a little impact can change people's perception to the environment.
Because I wanted them to be ready in the early morning (before everyone go to class), so I got to school early with a truck. In the image you can see me rushing - but I quite enjoyed the experience. I know these figures belong to here right after I put them down.
