Jing Jenny Wang

The lips are universally recognized as a symbol of love and intimacy and are also so entwined in the physicality of day-to-day life. We use our lips to carry out actions as simple as speaking or eating but also hold the ability to love and cherish. This duality was what first intrigued me when approaching this project, and I wanted to showcase my lips in their rawest form to exhibit everything that they are; vulnerable and powerful at the same time. I used candle wax to make casts of my lips and formed them in a way that balanced the fragility and structural integrity of each pair of lips. After creating more than 30 casts, I selected the 12 that were the best made and arranged them to be in a taxonomy. Despite the casts being replicas of my own lips, the aqueous consistency of the wax produced differences in each set of lips. I cast one in blue to emphasize the individuality of each lip. The evolution of this piece from maquette to the final product is extremely rewarding to reflect on and has pushed me to experiment with newer, unconventional materials in my artwork.