Specs

• Value: €8.500
• Material: Recycled Cardboard (saved from his transfer from San Francisco to Italy)
• Dimension: 150cm x 40cm x 35cm
• Months: 4
• Hours: 150
• Title: You Are Strong
• Description: Young Woman with Tribal Spoon Necklace
• Series: Second Chances (#2)

About the Piece

This was the second piece created by Chad, it was started in his studio in Bologna in the winter of 2020 before the pandemic and then finished at home in his bedroom during the first national quarantine that began in March and ended in May. This piece was presented at the Lucca Biennale 2022. Like all the material for this project, there is a story for every box. The cardboard for this piece was repurposed from the boxes that were used to move from San Francisco to Bologna 2 years prior. This piece represents the creative process of reusing the material of the past to create a new life. (Learn more about the philosophy of the material for this series.)

This was the first full body sculpture Chad attempted, and it pushed him to invent new processes for creating a structure that was strong and balanced enough to stay upright independently. He did not know if the material would support his ideas, but he believed that if the proportions of the sculpture were correct, and a human body can remain balanced on two feet, then the sculpture should also be able to remain balanced.

 Chad also explored ways of using a razor to reshape parts of the statue. This technique was first used on the ankles and then he liked the visual affect so much it defined the look of the hands and the face,  It opened up a new level of creativity and freedom in the construction of these sculptures, and it allowed him to create more detailed features to focus the viewer's attention on certain parts of the statue. 

Chad's process and philosophy evolved in this project as he also explored elements of motion, solid transition between planes (as seen with the connection between the face and the hair), and respecting the material by intentionally leaving parts of the sculpture unfinished so that the viewer could appreciate the material as an important part of the meaning.