“By building these sculptures, I try to understand the human relationships that surround me. It is a way for me to contemplate and remind myself that even if there is conflict right now, there is a way for all the pieces to fit together, even if some people don’t feel at home here and now, there is a place where they belong and that they will eventually find it.”
(NWPR-IN) – “Objects and Spirits” show in the Robert E. Wilson Gallery at Huntington University runs through Friday, November 12 with the artworks by Sayaka Ganz of Fort Wayne, Indiana. The artist is known for taking common plastic items and turning them into works of art.
“My work process is reminiscent of my experiences growing up in several different countries, of being disconnected from the place I was born. I began searching for a new community where I truly belong, finding discarded objects from people’s houses to give them a second life, a new home,” expressed the artist.
Born in Yokohama, Japan, Ganz has been living and working in Indiana for the past 15 years. She currently teaches design and drawing at Indiana University-Purdue University. “For my sculptures I use discarded plastic utensils, toys and metal pieces among other things. The human history behind these objects gives them life in my eyes and my goal is for each object to transcend its origins by being integrated into an animal form that seems alive. This process of reclamation and regeneration is liberating to me as an artist,” says Sayaka.
In a wire study, “Dance” was a self-modeled where she took reference photographs to show the muscle structure as well as the fluidity of the pose, like in a gesture drawing in space. Her newest sculpture “Ambush” has been permanently installed at the Fort Wayne Museum of Art.
To learn more about Sayaka Ganz, visit www.sayakaganz.com.