Chris M Yee
No Return
2024
Plastic Wrappers, Fishing Wire
167 x 42 x 15 cm

The illusion of a life-sized figure is created from delicate plastic pieces, each folded into a knot, glistening in a multitude of colors and opacities. 

Like good food, people are experienced. There is definitely a nod to globalization and packaged food, snacky foods. There is also a huge way in which Asian-Americans bond over packaged foods. On one hand such popular products are globally sold, thus enabling a connection to our motherlands. There is a depth within this work around the idea of preservation (the use of processed and persevered food, the attempt of preserving culture, and my desire to preserve what is left of people I have lost) while being in a very delicate conformation. 

With closer inspection you can really see what my eating habits are. Well, not everything I ate went to the sculpture. I was a little picky about how the packaging looked and the material it was made from in order to be included. Silly thing is, during the process of collecting the plastic wrappers, I would find them in my pant pockets, washed out in the laundry machine, or on the bottom of my backpack. I always thought it was a nice surprise, and at one point it was normal to me, as if it was another penny or pencil.

Looking back, this delectable being was inspired by Felix Gonazlez-Torres and his candy installations. A splash of my grandma’s memory. And the lingering ache of an ex.

Unlike Torres’s work, you cannot experience this piece like a piece of candy. You can’t take a piece with you, you cannot taste it. That experience is over and gone. The only thing left is this exoskeleton. An exoskeleton that I cannot hug or hold, for it only shines in colors and wavers in the wind. In essence, it is one of the closest things to a memory. I can replay a memory over and over again in my head. I can sink into my dreams, delighting in how real my mind is able to craft this illusion of a person, but its not real. It cannot feel real, not matter how close I try or want it to be. The experience is over, the candy is eaten. And I left with wrappers. 

Maybe there is desperation in trying to hold on all these wrappers. Neruotically straightening each crinkle and crease to fold them up. A compulsive sense of urgency to gather them all up. The ritual is so quick and habitual that there are no thoughts, it has become second nature.