Tao's installation development: Karma

DEVELOPMENT I : THE DEFINITION OF EROTIC

In order to start thinking about the installation, my first priority was to be clear and understand my own definition of the word erotic.

When it comes to erotic, my definition towards is very straight forward. Erotic leads to love, which invites a couple into the story. Then love basically leads you further to sex, which is the process of "making love". I divide the expression, which involves in making love, into three words:

• Darkness
• Touching
• Surprise

DEVELOPMENT II : APPLYING INSPIRATION FROM ARTIST

From studying the artist Bill Viola and El Anatsui, I came up with inspirations from the artists which i would like to apply to my installation. In order to locate my site and start with the ideas, I combine the inspirations I received with my definition of erotic.

CONCEPT

To construct a meaning installation with underlining statement on "truth of life" of human beings. Emphasize the effect of the installation using the site and materials.

In physiology, body water is the water content of the human body. A significant fraction of the human body is made up of water. The total amount of water in a man of average weight (70 kilograms) is approximately 40 liters, average 57percent of his body weight, but it progressively decreases from birth to old age, most of the decrease occurring during the first 10 years of life. Also, obesity decreases the percentage of water in the body, sometimes to as low as 45 percent.  

Ice cubes symbolizes the cycle of life, going around over again, from birth to death....

Can be used very effectively with touching when the space is dark.

DEVELOPMENT III : SITE ANALYSIS

 From Development II, the site I need in the faculty needs to a area where people use it daily. In order to kiss the faculty, I planned to transform that area of the faculty where people uses and walk by without giving attention to it. Two space came to my decision.

10th Floor Walkway

Room 314 on 3rd floor

At last, the better site for my project was room 314. Eventhough the circulation in that room was not as directed as the walkway on 10th floor. All the variables can be controlled, which benefits more when working with complicated materials such as ice.

DEVELOPMENT IV : INSTALLATION CONCEPT

Walking through layers of ice curtains in different states. From solid to liquid state. 

• Ice represents pureness and clarity of new born baby
• Audience walking through the space represents your love ones

The older you grow, the pureness and clarity decrease through time. The older you get more sin you give to your love ones, represented by the water which melts from ice and make the audience wet. 

DEVELOPMENT V : EXPERIMENTING MATERIALS

Ice Cube

Experimenting with ice to find the exact time it uses to melt in room temperature.

takes 12 ~ 13 minutes to melt entirely. Depends on the temperature of the initial ice cube.

Ice Pack

Working with real ice can be very hard to work with due to limit amount of time you have to work. I decided to use artificial ice or ice packs instead.

This is what it looks like

Ice Pack Preparation 

The ice pack cannot be used immediately. I soaked it in water container for a day to let the labels fall off, then leave it to try. After the ice packs dry out, it is ready to be pierce in small holes so that all of it could be sew together to form an ice pack curtain.