appealing

The Maynard
Fall 2020

Fall 2020 Issue Cover Art

by Sidi Chen

My multidisciplinary practice focuses on the intersectionality of the body and physical and conceptual environments and structure to examine how experiences are formed, how identities are constructed, and how relationships are built, based on locations and interactions. Through my artistic practice, I am passionate about telling the stories of the marginalized, bridging disconnections, and incubating resilience, sustainability, and revitalization within the community.

In the work, Still Alive: Four Oranges, I reflect on and liken the positions and processes of movements in the fast-changing world to the oranges on the table: the pioneer (eaten); the outcasted (rolling off the table); the majority and the follower (inside the bag, starting to mold).

There are times, in life and art-making, when I need to make decisions to step into a position without realizing other options. Thus, through this work, I want to raise—and seek answers to—the questions: Is being consumed our inevitable fate in a capitalist system? What could we do to have other options?