Empty Me
Button & Pins on wood Panel, 210 x 720 cm
About the artwork
This installation work by Ran Hwang titled "Empty Me" portrays a bird made of white buttons and pins, meticulously assembled together, transformed into a symbol of self-liberation. This installation shows duality: the white bird is spreading its wings, ready to take off, but the artist impeaches it by enclosing it in a cage. The title of this large-scale installation is the result of the quasi-shamanic process of the time consuming and repetitive building requiring manual effort and concentration, almost close to meditation. It results in agony, physical and emotional toll, emptying her mental journey from physical exertion.
About the artist
Ran Hwang graduated with a Bachelor in Fine Arts from the School of Visual Arts, New York, and subsequently went on to attain her Masters Degree in Fine Arts at the Graduate School of Arts Chung-Ang University in Seoul, Korea. This Korean-born artist currently resides and practices her craft in New York, and is best-known for creating intricate, large-scale wall installations with exquisite materials from the fashion industry such as beads, buttons, pins and thread. A multiple award winner, Ran Hwang has completed many residencies and her works have been exhibited across the globe, including Korea, Switzerland, USA and France, and collected by distinguished hotels, museums and companies.