I’ve had the incredible opportunity to work on a sculpture by Mel Chin, an artist I studied and admired in graduate school for his social activist art. He created a sculpture called Wake in 2018 with the help of UNCA’s STEAM Studio, UNCA students, and volunteers. Back then I was one of those volunteers and though my contribution was small, a bit of carving, a lot of cleaning, and general excitement making, I was enthralled with it. The sculpture is huge, by the way. At its highest point, it is 60 feet tall. The sculpture is of Jenny Lind, a famous opera singer’s figurehead in front of a hybridized version of a sunken ship/whale skeleton. During the spring of 2018 I would come in once a week to see where things were and felt the undeniable excitement of this larger than life project. And not only did I feel this kind of momentum and energy, I felt something in my bones, a kind of pull into this world. I didn’t know what it meant exactly, only that this huge project with its collective making, big name artist, and group effort had me at hello. I happened to be up in New York for my best friend’s wedding in July and this corresponded with Wake’s Times Square opening. I lived vicariously through the students and artists who had spent days and nights installing the thing and celebrated with a bunch of alcohol and karaoke afterwards. The afterglow from that whole experience was with me for a long time. It still is.
Fast forward to 2019 and I am applying for a shop technician position at STEAM studio. I know my work with at-risk youth doing adventure therapy has come to an end. I am ready for the new. I get the job! And I am invited to help install the Wake piece in Asheville in March 2020. So last week I worked on building the deck for this piece and adding the cladding to the ribs. It was an absolute joy. We worked as a small team, the majority of whom had put it up the first time. In comparison, this was a piece of cake with an extended deadline and the hindsight of having done it once before.
It’s up right now – behind Burial Brewing at 44 Collier Avenue and will hopefully remain up for the next 6 months. It was the last thing I worked on collectively before Covid-19 struck and has us all giving each other lots of space. But there was a lot of power in the collective making. Even though the project was conceived by Mel Chin, I felt I had a hand in its aesthetic. I felt close to the folks I was working with. We were engaged in something larger than ourselves with a larger than life message. How will we rise to the occasion in the midst of climate change? A very compelling question which begs us to ask how will we rise in the age of Covid-19? These questions are essentially the same. We must work together to find solutions. The power of Wake is in its questions and sheer size. It makes us pause and think, like good art should do. Likewise, the enormity of this global pandemic asks of us the same thing – pause and think. We must work together to find solutions.
