Chih Jou -Yolanda- Chiu. Academy of Art University. Selected Graduate 2017
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Artists
Published: 12.07.2017

Yolanda Chiu has brought a fresh and sensitive insight to the topic of self-portrait as metaphor; a topic fraught with the danger of obvious symbols and cliché.
Academy of Art University, MFA, San Francisco, United States.
Using her exquisitely detailed self-portrait dolls to capture the essence of her narrative on familial and cultural struggles, she not only transcends cliché but is able to bring an unwavering and deeply meaningful sense of liberation to her work. An alchemical container holds a doll’s body parts, parts delicately sewn with red threads, some post-surgery and others being prepared for the beautification of plastic surgery. Then there is the mysterious, haunting doll as automaton giving hints of an interior life. Yolanda brings to all her work, and to all who view her work, a sense of contemplation, reflection, hidden relationships, and choices to be made. / Charlene Modena, Director, School of Jewelry & Metal Arts
Contrast I Conflicts I Contradictions
My parents and I have been in conflict for a long time. This struggle originates from the stark contrast between my westernized thoughts and my parents’ traditional Chinese customs. I am eager for freedom, but my identity as an Asian female comes with restrictions. These circumstances led me to choose dolls as the theme of my MFA thesis. Dolls epitomize the owner’s control; the doll is an object that the “mother” can manipulate. The doll has no real identity but is at the mercy of this “mother.” I use this theme in my art to represent myself. In creating my own dolls, I regain authority over this process of identity construction, all while symbolically conveying the manipulation of the character.
More works and contact:
Website: http://www.yolandacstudio.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yolandacstudio
Email: yolandacstudio@gmail.com
Find out more about the courses and deadlines for applications to Academy of Art University.
Using her exquisitely detailed self-portrait dolls to capture the essence of her narrative on familial and cultural struggles, she not only transcends cliché but is able to bring an unwavering and deeply meaningful sense of liberation to her work. An alchemical container holds a doll’s body parts, parts delicately sewn with red threads, some post-surgery and others being prepared for the beautification of plastic surgery. Then there is the mysterious, haunting doll as automaton giving hints of an interior life. Yolanda brings to all her work, and to all who view her work, a sense of contemplation, reflection, hidden relationships, and choices to be made. / Charlene Modena, Director, School of Jewelry & Metal Arts
Contrast I Conflicts I Contradictions
My parents and I have been in conflict for a long time. This struggle originates from the stark contrast between my westernized thoughts and my parents’ traditional Chinese customs. I am eager for freedom, but my identity as an Asian female comes with restrictions. These circumstances led me to choose dolls as the theme of my MFA thesis. Dolls epitomize the owner’s control; the doll is an object that the “mother” can manipulate. The doll has no real identity but is at the mercy of this “mother.” I use this theme in my art to represent myself. In creating my own dolls, I regain authority over this process of identity construction, all while symbolically conveying the manipulation of the character.
More works and contact:
Website: http://www.yolandacstudio.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yolandacstudio
Email: yolandacstudio@gmail.com
Find out more about the courses and deadlines for applications to Academy of Art University.
Sculpture: Reborn, 2016
Copper, bronze, wood, black moon stone, agate, brass nuts and washers, music wire, elastic string, sewing thread, fake eyelash.
33 x 39 x 15.5 cm
Photo by: Chih Jou “Yolanda” Chiu
© By the author. Read Klimt02.net Copyright.
Sculpture: Capsule, 2016
Bronze, elastic thread, copper, brass, agate, French lace.
60 x 24 x 24 cm
Photo by: Chih Jou “Yolanda” Chiu
© By the author. Read Klimt02.net Copyright.
Sculpture: Past, Present, and Future, 2017
Bronze, brass, copper, silver, vintage doll box, wood, red thread, brass nuts and washers, spring, sewing thread, fake eyelash
16 x 17 x 33 cm
Photo by: Chih Jou Chiu
© By the author. Read Klimt02.net Copyright.
Sculpture: Journey to the West, 2017
Copper, bronze, opalize, CZ, amythest, springs.
56 x 48 x 24 cm
Photo by: Chih Jou “Yolanda” Chiu
© By the author. Read Klimt02.net Copyright.
Sculpture: Threads of Life, 2017
Vintage wooden box, copper, bronze, res threads, moon stones, elastic string, piano wire.
19 x 8 x 7.5 cm
Photo by: Chih Jou “Yolanda” Chiu
© By the author. Read Klimt02.net Copyright.
Sculpture: Natural vs Artificial, 2015
Bronze, plywood, gouache, thread, acrylic paint, velvet, foam, surgery knife.
33 x 18 x 6 cm
Photo by: Chih Jou “Yolanda” Chiu
© By the author. Read Klimt02.net Copyright.
Sculpture: Self Portrait, 2015
Bronze, sterling silver, steel, elastic thread.
30 x 17 x 5 cm
Photo by: Chih Jou “Yolanda” Chiu
© By the author. Read Klimt02.net Copyright.
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