Glass Armour

Witness fragility transformed to strength in a mighty act of determination by glass artist NC Qin wearing her glass sculptural armour.

The cast glass armour is constructed with the cultural acknowledgement of the symbology and iconography of armours to Asian culture; as a mark of status and an object of familial and patriotic pride and expectation. By using glass to create the armour, NC Qin renders it ineffective in its mechanism for defence, with the aim of subverting its meaning and to explore themes of guilt, shame and repression that are often sourced from frustrated efforts to attain an ideal that is fostered by expectation, particularly within Asian social structures.

Image: NC Qin, Glass Armour, 2020, cast Blackwood Crystal, cast soda lime-glass and steel. Photographer: Pascual

About NC Qin

NC Qin is a Sydney-based Chinese Australian artist. Her sculpture installations feature a signature use of glass and primarily explore the performative, psychological and emotive relationships within the interpersonal and intrapersonal space. NC Qin’s sculptural practice examines the human psyche and seeks to express abstract emotional experiences in visual analogies. In her Armour series, she delves into emotions – targeting those of pride and wrath, how they are perceived in the Chinese culture and explores the defence/coping mechanisms that are commonly used, their effectiveness and how they relate to the overall human experience. In her work, she often refers to Chinese cultural and historical values that are informed by Taoist philosophy and practice.

This event is part of Chatswood Year of the Rabbit Festival, the North Shore’s premier Lunar New Year celebrations presented by Willoughby City Council.

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