Snowflake

The main inspiration for this piece was repurposing chocolate bar wrappers. The packaging consists of two layers: a hard colorful printed paper and a thinner shiny foil layer, both containing patterns. I cut out pieces, outlined some of them with black marker, and arranged them into the final composition.

There are five different patterns/colors which correspond to five different flavors of chocolate. They all form an individual "family" within the work. The content of every family is similar to our human family members. In the center of the piece is a human being (the child) which is also the source (but more about that later). On each side of the child, we have two sides of the family, stemming from our two parents. These individuals symbolize the genetic (and sometimes cultural) material we inherit. As we go further back in generations, our grandparents and then more distant relatives contribute less directly to this inheritance. As this hazy shift occurs, the materials go from distinct colorful ones to shiny (universal) ones. They become our "ancestors" whose stories we hear growing up.

I believe as human beings, we all carry a fragment of the source within us. In this piece, all of the components that make us who we are originate from the same source. All the pieces form a unique mandala style pattern. Just like a unique snowflake. What makes us unique is also universal. We all share a collective unconscious.