Ibeji
Cooper Union – dieFirma
May 30 – June 24, 2019
dieFirma NYC
dieFirma is pleased to announce the opening of IBEJI, a collaborative installation created by the second-year students at the Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture at The Cooper Union.
IBEJI—name derived from the the term for twins in Yoruban mythology—is a sculpture that emphasizes structure, form, and ideas of balance.
Over a semester as part of a Structures I course, the students worked to design a site-specific sculpture. Focusing on collaboration and the art of making, the fabrication of the piece was done with the help of Precision Stone and the North American Sculpture Center. Using new technologies, the sculpture’s fourteen pieces were created offsite and assembled in the gallery. The students, having done prior visits to dieFirma, focused on creating a piece that aligned with the ideas and visions of the space.
Driven by the ideas and experiences of the students, process is emphasized throughout the exhibition. A display of models and a time-lapse video of the construction shows the evolution of fabrication. The viewers are asked to think of IBEJI not as a final piece, but as a process.
The sculpture is accessible from all sides, and the perception of the geometry changes from every angle. Viewers are encouraged to interact and engage with the structure, and are invited to enter the world of IBEJI through arches that act as portals.
The class was led by Visiting Professor Julian Palacio. Participating students were Xiaohan Bao, Amanda Cheng, Thomas Choi, Quianhe Fan, Xinyi Guo, Sidney Höskulds-Linet, Kai Huang, MariaEleni Komninou, Sanjana Lahiri, Julia Maevski, Karim Sabry, Suet WA Au, and Rollin Walther.
Ibeji: Process
Ibeji at dieFirma
