Artist Nina Jun crafts delicate, life-like balloons from ceramics. Seems contradictory, no? Balloons are so light, and here they are made from something that is unable to float. But with Jun’s balloons, they will never deflate, and we’re able to capture their fun forever. From her artist statement:
Flying is everyone’s desire. When a helium balloon escaped from my hand one day and went into infinite space I began to wonder what is there beyond the blue sky? Even though we cannot see with our eyes, we know that there in the universe are layers of galaxies merging constantly with dying and forming stars. My wonders about space inspired me to create this series of ceramic balloons. The patterns and motifs on some of my ceramic balloons reflect the abstract images of constellations and views of the cosmos.
Perpetuity is also one of the unsolved problems we face. What if a balloon never deflated, so that the joy it brought us never ended? What if our memories never escaped us? What if these balloons could lift us up while also keeping us grounded? I make these ceramic balloons to remind us our unobtainable desire to be in charge of time and space.
The selling point for believability in Jun’s work are the seams that she’s formed into her pieces. Without them, they wouldn’t look like balloons and would just be dense, colorful shapes.
Even though I know that Jun’s work will never leave the ground, that doesn’t stop me from enjoying it. A lot.
Via Design Boom.
