Light and Shadows

(I, II and III) Sculpture studies, fired clay, 2020

“The prisoners see only the shadows cast by these statues and other objects; and having lived in the cave from childhood, they no longer recall any other reality. They do not suspect that these shadows are but imperfect images of objects that they cannot see; and consequently they mistake the shadows for the real.”

--Plato, Allegory of the Cave

Overview

Shadows and Light explores the relationship between perception, reality, and identity through sculpture, light, and motion. Inspired by Plato's Allegory of the Cave, the work questions how people construct reality from incomplete information and how perception shapes our understanding of ourselves and the world.

Rather than treating sculpture as a static object, the installation uses light, shadow, and rotation as equally important materials. As the sculpture slowly turns, fragmented forms align to produce a complete human silhouette through shadow, revealing an image that exists only temporarily. The work invites viewers to consider whether reality lies in the physical object or in the perception it creates.

Concept

My artistic practice often investigates philosophical questions surrounding existence, memory, identity, and human perception. During this period, my work shifted from formal explorations of geometry and found objects toward more personal questions about cultural identity and selfhood.

Shadows and Light reflects this transition. It asks how identity is constructed between what is physically present and what is mentally perceived—between the tangible self and the image we project onto the world.

The installation draws directly from Plato's Allegory of the Cave, where prisoners mistake shadows for reality because they have never experienced anything else. By transforming fragmented objects into a coherent shadow portrait, the work suggests that our understanding of reality is often assembled from incomplete perspectives.

Process

The sculpture consists of four independent plaster forms positioned on a rotating platform. Individually, each form appears abstract and disconnected. Only through the interaction of movement and light do the pieces combine into a recognizable human profile.

Rotation introduces time as a material, allowing the sculpture to continually shift between abstraction and representation. The shadow becomes a temporary image that exists only through the relationship between object, light, and viewer.