Subject-Object

Series

In the space between subject and object, the I-figure engages body, spirit and mind. Stripped of expressive content yet embedded with symbolism and narrative, the I-frame remains open – inviting the viewer’s perception of absence and presence, Other and Self. It reflects like a subliminal mirror of I/One/First, an affirmation refracting the subjective through an objective lens. Its form emerges across cultures and paradigms. In creation stories and ancestral systems, totemic figures channel spirits and forebears, appearing as first-forms. As a Roman numeral, 'I'' marks beginnings, primacy, and identity. In philosophy and psychology, the I-subject relays states of consciousness, and human and spirit realms. In geo-politics, the first person is a pronoun of agency and personhood, a platform for human rights. Its imprint moves across languages: in Egyptian hieroglyphs, the reed-like “I” signifies breath or life force; in Arabic the upright stroke is a symbol of divine oneness and unity; in te reo Māori, it connects the spoken word with the past tense; and in Japanese, it speaks the sound of love. In this body of work, resonances and residues of the I-form are activated as vessel and portal in unique contexts.