For Marbled Butterfly Buddy, I marbled cotton fabric with dye-na-flow paints floating on carrageenan mixed water. I scanned the fabric, modified to make the pattern bigger with Photoshop, and digitally-printed. The Buddy is made out of this customized fabric, and I painted butterflies and butterfly catchers to represent one of my unforgettable childhood memories.
General Artist Statement: The consistent demeanor of rubbing my fingernails along every stitch border of my light blue with green dots blanket, often comes up in my head as a clear memory. I can define the memory as neither pleasing nor unpleasant, but I clearly remember I was obsessed with the tangibility and the blanket’s coziness provided me security and warmth from the outside world.
The blanket was gone a long time ago, but nostalgia and obsession from my security blanket have continued inside me to get a new sleeping mate, Bunny, when my anxiety and loneliness started after being away far from home. These attachments to the stuffed toys have become a motive for my current works. Out of colored or dyed fabrics, I make soft sculpture pieces such as blankets and stuffed dolls named Buddies, creating my own childhood comfort zone to attempt to detach from adulthood in the challenging reality.
