"The leftover"
Medium: mixed media illustrations (aluminum and painting)
Concept: The Leftover is a piece inspired by the experiment conducted by American psychologist Harry Harlow on love and attachment. In the experiment, two surrogate mother figures were presented to infant monkeys—one made of soft cloth and the other made of wire mesh but equipped with a milk bottle. The results showed that, although the infant monkeys would leave the cloth surrogate momentarily to obtain milk from the wire surrogate, they would always return to the cloth one, as if it provided an irreplaceable emotional foundation.
From the artist’s perspective, however, the viewpoint is reversed. Instead of identifying with the infant monkeys, the artist relates to the wire surrogate—the one that provides sustenance. Based on personal experience, no matter how much one provides for another, it cannot create a deep emotional bond in the same way that someone with charm, warmth, or skillful expression can. Those individuals are like dolls—effortlessly approachable and embraced without hesitation—while the artist feels like nothing more than a serving tray, an object to be used, drained, and discarded, leaving only an empty husk.
The piece features three objects on a tray: a heart, a brain, and a padlock. These represent what the artist feels has been taken away:
Heart (Feeling): A symbol of emotions. When one’s feelings are taken advantage of, it results in sorrow, despair, and emotional wounds.
Brain (Consciousness): A symbol of thought, awareness, and reasoning. When the heart is wounded, the mind deteriorates—rational thinking fades, replaced by obsessive questioning and desperate attempts to hold on, as if descending into madness.
Padlock (Trust): A symbol of trust. The artist sees trust as unlocking the door to allow someone into their life. But once that trust is broken, rebuilding it becomes incredibly difficult. The padlock in the artwork is cracked, its keyhole fractured, and even the latch is broken—signifying that trust is beyond repair or that opening up again is nearly impossible.