Inside Out
2023, installation/sculpture,
chicken wire, eagle cell board, paper towel, white glue
paper mache clay, spray foam sealant
“Inside out” (2023) is a 7ft tall cylindrical enclosure made of paper mache with a gap in the back where the viewer can walk in and out of it. This is the continious project of “Can You See You Through the Window?” (2022). The work was installed in a corner of Hutto Patterson Hall, where it is exposed to natural light. It is placed against the wall and forms a mostly closed off space with the possibility of the viewer to enter and exit.
The piece consists of folds and the rough textured surface of paper mache. The surface and scale creates the effect where the structure comes to look like an igloo or a cave, giving the sense that the enclosure is an isolated shelter in either a geographical location or in time. In the wall of the enclosure, there is an opening, a window in the front of the piece. The opening of the window, its threshold, is constructed with paper mache clay, which creates a smooth surface that frames the window. It breaks the concealment of the space, exposing the inner side of the installation to the exterior. Wu considered windows as an access that gives the person inside the option to either show herself or to hide from the frame.
