Next to Normal
Yiqi Zhang
A scar records one's personal history and can be considered a figurative representation of memory fragments. It encodes the event of the physical world colliding with our soft bodies forming an eternal imprint on skin. Although it is often a metaphor for pain, tragedy, and violence, a scar is also the outcome of a biological process of wound repair in our tissues—a natural part of the body’s healing process.
This project aims to create an innovative visual language to destigmatize scars by celebrating the embodied mark-making rendered by the healing process. In this project, I document and respond to people’s scars with sculptures that offer a physical instantiation of their scar narratives. These are installed in public places to release into the world any residual pain they may carry. And, to create moments of wonder and surprise for anyone who stumbles upon them. Scars don't have to be ugly, scary, or terrible; they are unique graphic symbol of the people who bear them.
Mini sculptures
Seven mini sculptures derived from the abstraction of scar stories, which present a different visual language from the current cultural context. I tried to use a different visual narrative to appeal to people to pay attention to their scars.
A Zine for Our Scars
The zine includes photos of sculptures and scar stories, in which people can flip the left and right parts together to find the connection between them.
Thesis Book
