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Castles in the Air, 2012
In collaboration with architect Brian Ripel
Tea bags, string, mirrored plexi board
7 ft h x 4 ft w x 7 ft 6 in l
Installation in the Foster Galleries
Commissioned by the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, Lincoln, MA, for the solo exhibition Retreat
Repurposing the dried tea bags accumulated from the interactive installation Tea House into material Jean Shin and Brian Ripel collaborate to construct an inverted string model of the Museum’s building, Castles in the Air. Inspired by the hanging chain models of Spanish architect Antoni Gaudí, the intricate web of strings and tea bags produce an inverted ghostly architecture illustrating the structural forces responding to gravity. The Museum’s founder Julian de Cordova sought to create a worldly escape from his New England reality by dressing his hilltop estate in the exotic architectural trimmings of Europe. By replacing Gaudí’s weighted pellet bags with tea bags, the artists consider the role of tea in the Museum’s history, its historic, economic and symbolic import in the Boston area, as well as its long tradition as a material bridge between cultures.