The context for my wire sculpture comes from the book, The Halo by L. Dale Young. In this book of poetry, the narrator is in a car accident that paralyzes him from the neck down. The poems are written from his hospital bed where describes his body and mental state as broken wings. I took this metaphor and applied it to a personal experience of feeling inadequate and held back due to incontrollable factors in my life.
The wings and skin are made out of thin tissue paper to represent a state of fragileness. The figure hovers above the hands to portray a refusal of acceptance, but also the desire to be independent. The hands represent support from others. They are much bigger than the figure as a symbolic relationship between the two. The use of a contour allows a more abstract interpretation rather than a complete representation of reality.