Witness
2023
Soft Sculpture Series | Crochet and Knitted Wool and Mohair Yarn

At the heart of Witness lies a question drawn from the tradition of Chinese Nuo Opera, where villagers don masks to embody deities: Do masks grant power to those who wear them, or do humans give masks their meaning? This series of masks and soft sculptures explores the shifting dynamic between identity, transformation, and communication, examining how wearing a mask alters perception and expression.

Inspired by the adaptive forms of deep-sea creatures and the organic growth of plants, these sculptures merge the natural world with the human body. Each piece distorts and reinterprets the face through intricate fiber techniques, challenging conventional notions of selfhood and interaction. The wool and mohair fibers balance concealment and revelation, softness and structure—mirroring the complexity of human connection.

By reshaping the face into something unfamiliar, Witness asks: Where does power reside—in the mask or in the one who wears it? How does transformation occur when identity is obscured? And what new forms of expression emerge when the boundaries between self and object dissolve?