July 2011

The Birthday Party was my end exam project for the Rietveld Art Academy’s final Exhibition 2011. An instillation of an inflatable Birthday party made out of Transparent Drop Plastic (plastic used to protect furniture from paint spills). The plastic is all sewn together with a sewing machine (no glue) to create one sculptural form, blown up by a single industrial pump. The table top has a cake, candles, stacked cups, soda bottles, plates, balloons, forks, chips, party hats, chip bowl, and happy birthday sign that also blow up along with the three chairs and table itself. Periodically the pump would go off and the artwork’s second phase would be  its collapse, then back on again after 15 minutes down. The main theme of this piece had to do with expectation and disillusionment. Just like hosting a well prepared birthday party and then no one comes, (or perhaps they don’t come in the beginning causing brief moments of panic and disappointment). Or a having a children’s pool party and then it rains all that day. Birthdays are one day a year and hold so much expectation and significance it is interesting to isolate this idea, remove it’s colorful associated decoration but still keep its temporal nature. It is these bittersweet moments in life, that interest me.