‘shuffle and reshuffle’ | Coco Ma
Coco Ma
Curated by Safiyah Maurice
Exhibition: April 14th – June 2021
Curatorial Statement
Littman + White galleries presents Coco Ma’s virtual exhibition, ‘shuffle and reshuffle’ , an experiential material expression of identity. This whimsical and boundless installation series takes you on a visual journey through haunted portals in search of the unknown. “It is an absolute honor to hold virtual space with Coco Ma. Please read through the interview and statement, as well as take an extensive look through this current exhibition. It is breathtakingly beautiful work.”Artist Statement - Ashly Sypherd
Artist Bio & Statement
Coco Ma is a New York based visual artist working primarily in mixed-media installation, sculpture, and performance. By assembling ubiquitous materials, her works often address topics of the subconscious and the subtle feelings in social relationships. Her working process is usually material-oriented and experimental, through which she encounters the final works as accidental yet consequential. Coco Ma earned her BA in studio art and philosophy from Bard College in 2020. She has participated in group exhibitions including Escape Clause, Pamela Salisbury Gallery, Hudson, NY (11.2020), Utopia, Castleton University's Christine Price&Bank Galleries, online exhibition (09.2020), BFA Show 2020, Serving The People, online exhibition (05.2020), Art From Afar, Off The Cost, online exhibition (04.2020), and Arbitrary Imagination, Purchase College, Purchase, NY (11.2019).
“In my practice of mixed-media sculptures and installations, I explore topics related to self-reflection, personal relationships, and my cross-cultural background as an art maker. By being experimental with a wide range of materials, I create works that evoke uncertainties, inquiries, and reflections. My works as subtly unusual things often simultaneously generate familiar feelings, confusion, and amusement in an intricate complexity. Underneath the familiarity of the materials is what I think of as the 'white noise,' a hum of dissonance between the familiar and the strange.”
Instagram: @cocoma.studio
https://www.cocomastudio.com/
‘Presence of the Absent’ Installation
An Interview with New York-based Artist Coco Ma
What would you want the audience to know about ‘Presence of the Absent’ ?
I would like the viewers to see the work as approachable and feel free to go inside the space, if they could see it in person (smile). I like the word atmospheric. I perceive this installation as weaving around an atmosphere or a group of feelings. In my art practice, I work a lot with different types of materials, including found objects, cheap daily materials, hardware, and art materials. I often pay attention to their versatility (like if an object has an oval shape that can be easily combined with other materials) and distinctive characteristics when I first encounter them.
What is your approach of materials?
I only decide if they will be incorporated into a piece after I brought them into the studio, sometimes even after storing them for a long time. So my working process usually starts by feeling the material, see what feelings or responses they evoke inside me, and then see how they can become compatible with some of my thoughts and other materials.
What does the work say to us?
The white chalk words on the floor document my thoughts during the installation process. I wrote everything that came to my mind on the floor when I made the installation, no matter if they are in correct grammar structures or not. As a foreigner I sometimes intuitively use bad English. For this work, I think it is more appropriate than taking time to think grammatically. I also used the floor as my sketchbook for the installation process. I drew diagrams about, for example, how to install the circular disk or hang the silicone chairs on the floor.
Why chalk?
Chalk is easily erasable. The process of it being smeared by either me stepping around to install stuff or viewers walking around during the exhibition is interesting to me. In this way, the static words and diagrams become mobile and time-relevant. I also like the combination of the rough texture of the floor and the dustiness of the chalks.
What did the making process feel like while creating this installation?
Overall, the process was isolating and contemplative. The piece The Presence of The Absent is my thesis work and was started in 2019 and completed in 2020 during the pandemic. When I first started installing there were also other students doing their works in the same building. We would visit each others' space and talk about our progress. But soon the pandemic started, so from then on, I had been working alone most of the time. In the installation, there are also many elements that were produced from repetitive and contemplative processes, such as the finger-crocheted monofilament structure and the casted silicone chairs. I had lots of time contemplating while making them.
Why are your materials important to you?
I see materials as a mediation between me and the larger world. When I use a kind of material in my work as being recognizable, its appearance often reminds me of its previous stage of existence and the context it was situated in. I think of myself as an individual who cannot comprehensively understand the things around me, so working with materials is a way to bring my surroundings closer to me and allows me to take my time and investigate it.
Do you feel the weaving of materials together hold any memories and emotions?
I think they hold the memories of the making process and the personal reactions when I encounter them. Emotion might be a too strong word to use regarding my material choices. Maybe subtle feelings?
What is your journey and where do you want to go?
I’ve never been to the west coast. I like traveling around so if the pandemic can end soon this year I would love to take a trip to Portland or somewhere in the west.
