People Watching (gesture study), 2019
When I first moved Cameroon, I began painting observations form my daily walks. Then I moved to noticing just people and their gestures. I starting remarking the gestures then modeling them into tiny people made from a polymer oven-baked clay in the evenings. I started experimenting with dyes and wondered if I could dye the synthetic people with a very natural plant found everywhere in Cameroon: Hibiscus. The effect was amazing and gave each person their own personality. The colors differed and changed depending on the temperature, rate of cooling, and the amount of hibiscus and alum I used. I made over 1,000 people and not one is like the other, like humanity.
Below, you will see how I used them in a residency at NHIA and then I used them subsequently in videos where I gave them agency. Please click on my Vimeo link to see more.
Medium: Polymer clay, dried hibiscus flowers, alum
