Sheltering In: En Vie
galvanized steel wire, steel rod
90x72x24”
Artist Statement
It all started with a phone call, a plea for help that echoed past encounters with desperation. A young refugee, facing eviction during the Covid lockdown, reached out across continents. His story, like many friends before, resonated deeply—an account of survival amidst adversity, of navigating life's harshest realities. Alone, queer and afraid.
These moments of vulnerability, shared by countless marginalized voices, inspired Sheltering In: En Vie, a monumental wire sculpture born from empathy and resilience.
~ Joshua Ramirez, Curator
When I conceived ‘En Vie,’ I sought to capture not just a likeness but a spirit. The process involved taking thousands of video chat screenshots of my friend in need, giving me the visual data I needed to craft a dynamic portrait that transcends physicality. Supported by a Covid-related grant, I had the freedom to embark on a year-long journey to explore and to perfect technique at the scale this project required. Making a work of such large proportions I was forced to slow down and answer questions that I had never truly explored. Inspired to use 16 gauge wire, wire twice as thick as had been my norm and through trial and error I found the range in which 16 gauge wire wants to reside; the scale at which the lines feel most natural. The resulting 8 x 6 feet sculpture turned out to be capable of holding a depth of emotion that far exceeded my expectations.
The crucial sculptural innovation that brought En Vie to life making the concave perspective the entry point to the piece - a fundamental break with the sculptural cannon that requires presenting a 3D rendering of a face via the convex. By presenting the concave angle of the work as the ‘front’ I introduce the work at its most emotionally electric position. We as a species, are sensitive to the subtlest of changes in one's face and our brains are not programed to ‘see’ a face as a concave object, this 'flipping’ of the image into concave space forces viewers to become hyper-aware of this face and all the associated changes of mood that the concave perspective creates.
Contributing to the intensity of the connection that viewers experience when encountering ‘En Vie’ is the effect produced by the concave forward orientation that allows 'En Vie' to keep its gaze on the viewer no matter the angle of approach. ‘En Vie’ is constantly inviting each viewer to ‘look into his eyes’. In addition, viewers are handed a powerful flashlight with which they can construct a unique shadow narrative revealing a spectrum of emotions consciously embedded in the wire sculpture traversing from subtle joy to quiet rage. This shadow narrative in dialogue with the work itself, evokes for many who have encountered the piece the felt human experience of life in times of sheltering in place.
~ Noah James Saunders
Curatorial Statement
It all started with a phone call, a plea for help that echoed past encounters with desperation. A young refugee, facing eviction during Covid lockdown, reached out across continents. His story, like many friends before, resonated deeply—an account of survival amidst adversity, of navigating life's harshest realities. Alone, queer and afraid.
These moments of vulnerability, shared by countless marginalized voices, inspired 'Sheltering In: 'En Vie', a monumental wire sculpture born from empathy and resilience.
This monumental wire sculpture portrait represents a landmark achievement in contemporary art, pushing the boundaries of perspective, proportion, and emotion. Energetic, stimulating and thought-provoking, this 8 x 6 foot work is crafted from16 gauge wire, creating a profound interplay between, depth, internal space, shadow, and emotion through the lens of despair and frustration, forcing its audience to meditate on governmental policies and inherent biases that lead to hatred and intolerance around the world. Engulfed by light and shadow, through En Vie, one explores the perseverance of the human spirit, as it rises from the fires of ashes and adversity. Through this lens, we are actively invited to physically and emotionally experience undercurrents of rage and joy as others attempt to destroy “his light within”. It is here, where materiality is merged with meaning, that this deeply personal work is viewed as a means of protest and survival–in which silenced voices can be heard again.
Drawing parallels to the Sistine Chapel's Sibyls awaiting the fulfillment of gospel truths, 'Sheltering In: 'En Vie' invites viewers to contemplate the universal struggle against intolerance and adversity, by rendering the emotional spectrum of the marginalized and oppressed awaiting the fulminate of that universal truth that we ‘all are created equal’.
This exploration into wire sculpture's expressive potential expands upon previous works by Saunders, challenging viewers to engage with emotion, theirs and the portrait’s subject’s, and perspective in novel and unexpected ways. By creating forms in wire - the most innocuous item found in the back of every junk drawer - that provoke such deep emotional responses, Saunders has created a path by which all of us can reflect on the resilience inherent in our humanity, especially in those whose lights burn brightest amidst darkness.
- Joshua Ramirez, Curator
