Symbiosis II | TÀO
hermit
2024
Hermit is a wearable sculpture that embodies the instinct for survival, adaptation, and concealment. Made from clear and mirrored resin, woven reeds, silver foil, and acrylic paint, the piece takes inspiration from the hermit crab, a creature that never possesses a shell of its own, always seeking temporary refuge in borrowed forms.
This work arises from my own experiences of displacement and vulnerability, shaped by the dual realities of being both a foreigner and a woman. I find myself constructing barriers, woven shelters of protection that obscure my true self. Though I remain hidden, I am still watching, still present. The sculpture’s structure is built upon a handheld scope, its convex lens distorting vision: from the outside, the interior remains impenetrable; from within, the world is warped, fragmented, unfamiliar.
In Hermit, I physically weave the barriers that both shelter and isolate me. The act of weaving becomes a ritual of self-preservation, a conscious construction of distance between myself and the world. Yet, in this concealment, perception is altered, what is meant to protect also distorts, blurring the boundaries between safety and solitude, presence and invisibility.
