Salvaged hemlock branches from Olana State Historic Site, leather remnants, upholstery tacks
8 Americans, Installation at Chart Gallery, New York City
Materia/Material, Installation at Governor’s Island, New York City
S.O.S. series is made from the branches of 140-year-old dead hemlock at Olana State Historic Site, the former estate of artist Frederic Church. The famous Hudson River School artist planted this tree after witnessing the tanning industry’s deforestation of the Catskill Mountains in the 1800s. The tannins in the hemlock bark were extracted to cure leather. Shin responds to the recently fallen tree by salvaging the wood and covering the fallen hemlock with scraps of deadstock leather from today's fashion industry. The beautifully crafted upholstered leather seems deceptively decorative while also acting as armor or "second skin". Like phantom limbs, the sculptures serve as ghostly memory, haunted by past violence and trauma for both species. Meeting consumerism's demand for luxury goods comes at a high cost to our environment and ecosystem. As hemlock trees today are under new threat by the invasive insect Woolly Adelgid, will we act when we see the warning signs, alerting us of the ongoing environmental crisis?
