Specs

• Value: private collection/not for sale
• Material: Recycled Cardboard (recovered from the streets of Bologna)
• Dimension: 33cm x 20cm x 14cm
• Months: <1
• Hours: 20
• Title: You Are Free
• Description: A small cardboard statue of a nude woman sitting in a straight posture with legs hanging down, head back and hair flying in the wind.
• Series: Second Chances (#7)

About the Piece

This was the seventh piece created by Chad in his studio in bologna in December of 2021 while he was in the middle of creating the massive (4 meter tall) sixth piece "You Are Loved". Like all the material for this project, every cardboard box recovered from the streets of Bologna has a story and a previous life — abandoned and given a second chance (Learn more about the philosophy of the material for this series). This sculpture in particular was a personal portrait and gift, and is not for sale.

This was the first miniature sculpture created by Chad to act as a juxtaposition to the other life-size and double life-sized sculptures in this series. The goal with these small sculptures was to allow the public to engage with the same material and themes, but in a surprising way where they are forced to stoop down and interact at a different scale and perspective. This sculpture was a portrait of a friend, created in a rapid creative process with the intention of being more abstract (which is visible with the "legs" remaining rough pieces of cardboard).

This small scale created new artistic and technical challenges, but the process remained largely the same. Chad continued to use razor cutting as a way to sculpt. The material remains an important part of all these pieces, and they remain "unfinished" to give the viewer the moment of surprise when they realize what the sculpture is made of.