Sculptural Rebirth 脱皮的彫刻

Sculptural Rebirth 脱皮的彫刻 is a collaboration between Japanese artist Tadasu Takamine and art student participants from Emily Carr University of Art + Design (ECUAD). During the performance six students are covered in plaster while they sit and draw a posed model. When the plaster has set, they break free and emerge, suggesting the experience of transformation as one sheds an ill-fitting skin and moves on to a new phase of life.

Takamine’s performance represents a life-altering experience. The process takes each student on a journey of transformation from being a speaking subject engaging with the public sphere, to a brief period in which they are covered in plaster, creating a sense of solitude in which their consciousness turns inward, before finally emerging anew. The themes of transformation and reemergence resonate powerfully with many moments in life and are particularly relevant to both the experience of being a student and the creative process of art making.

The ECUAD students’ participation is facilitated by artist and Associate Professor Emily Hermant.