✹Gisela Colón

Gisela Colón is one of the artists that inspired me into this subject of a shiny object. The first image of her work that I saw from Pinterest was the extraordinary unknown object inside the gallery and it made me wonder 'How that was made?' the colours, the forms and the installation - everything is just so perfect. It reminds me of the shape of the teardrop that reflects with the light. The object, even I only saw it through pictures, catch my attention right away among millions of other artist's work on the same platform.

Once I have looked deeper into the context of her work - it's even more inspiring for me. The sense of organic form and the light transforming material that was used to convey the sense of movement - ' because of the form has no line, no border and no place for the audience to rest their eye when they look at the object - the object becomes fluid' she explained. Colón is best known for her minimalism sculpture that embodies the force of energy that is all around us in term of the law of the universe and the connection of her personal life with the earth from her homeland itself.

Also, I love her process of work and the use of light as a material - because basically her works are made out of either translucent material that allows light to go through or the reflective material that reflects light from the surface and create this marvellous piece of arts within the context of the energy of the universe.

The material that she discovered and mostly used in her project is carbon fibre which she claimed - is the best material for her sculpture because of the quality of lightweight, the wide range temperature resistance and the ability for seamless sculpture.

The object that I first discovered is called 'pod' which is the acrylic sheet that was formed by air. This process interests me in term of her context of life and energy - the forming process of the work is the same way our body and everything in the universe was formed - it's unpredictable.

Firstly, the sheet of translucent acrylic sheet is laid and fixed on the mould which is the sheet of wood that is cut in organic outline. The acrylic sheet will then be heated up in a heated room so the surface can be evenly warm and the blower machine will then release the air from underneath in between the acrylic and wooden sheet. Once cool down the pod will be trimmed and installed with another piece of pod inside.

The final piece provides the shift of light within and on the surface. The organic form, as I said, was formed by its own like the cell, seed or bacteria. It looks like it's moving but at the same time, it's a still object. Because it allows light to transform itself through the material - indeed, when I see her work and it amazes me every time.

Moreover, the choice of the place for the showcase is the other thing I found brilliant. As the picture shown below - 'The future is now' was exhibited in the desert in Saudi Arabia - with the contrast of the surrounding space and the alien-like material and form somehow it makes the context even more interesting. It gave me the feeling of the movie called 'Arrival' with its unusual appearance among the opposite scene of geography - that indeed I interpret it as 'shiny' for me.