Cynthia Lin

This work examines the fragility of the human condition through meticulously rendered orifices and scars.  Based on computer scans, these graphite drawings both literally and figuratively scrutinize notions of the “factual,” leading to reconsiderations of privacy, identity, gender, race, beauty, and mortality. Through monumental scale and devotion to the handmade, they engage conflicting experiences of discomfort and fascination. The colossal orifices, pressed against glass, aim to convey a tension between intimacy and vastness that evokes conflicting aspects of modern life.  They are vulnerable to scrutiny yet mysterious, unique yet anonymous, truthfully represented yet easily misread. Disruptions, such as breath condensation and twitching, and printing “failures,”such as banding and pixellation, create informational gaps that lead to experiencing complexity, enigma, and the subjective.