An Alien’s Desperation

(2021 - 2024)

Installation view

Dimensions variable (approx. 8 × 21 × 25 ft)

Rooted in her experience as a South Korean woman navigating life in America, Sophy Chang transforms the unseen labor of coexistence into visual form. An Alien’s Desperation balances vulnerability and defense, self and other, exploring the quiet negotiations and emotional adjustments that coexistence entails.

At once soft and spiky, the project carries both the tenderness of life and the innate instinct for self-protection. Crafted from tactile, yielding materials that invite touch yet hint at a subtle sharpness, the forms both soothe and provoke. They hold a delicate balance between comfort and tension, intimacy and distance. 

Disparate Alien, 2023

Mixed media: Korean textiles and embellishments; gloves with bells; custom metal-soled shoes; hand-crafted Korean clown mask; altered clown costume

Dimensions variable (approx. 64 x 21 × 10 in)

A Performer Is Performing, 2024

Video excerpt from a 4-hour long live performance

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Sugar Coated, 2023

Mixed media: poplar; XPS foam; spandex; rubber; pins; painted screws

Dimensions variable (approx. 13 x 20 × 20 in)

^Pointy Barriers^ n.1, n.2, n.3, 2023

Mixed media: plywood; aerosol paint; aluminum wire; yarn; resin

Dimensions variable

Bouncy atTACKers, 2023

Mixed media: painted foam balls; aerosol paint; tacks; springs

Dimensions variable

Birth Giver!!!, 2023

Mixed media: spandex; charm; synthetic yarn; plastic ball; cut cable ties

Dimensions variable (approx. 23 × 16 × 29 in)

WANDerland, 2023

Mixed media: plywood; aerosol paint; charm; aluminum wire; yarn; satin; film strip

Dimensions variable (approx. 24 × 32 × 17 in)

~Poison Tree~, 2024

Mixed media: plywood; aerosol paint; steel rod; yarn; wooden bead; brush bristles; hair curler; foam ball; charm; mesh

7 x 3 x 3.5 ft

Spiky Tusk, 2022

Mixed media: yarn; aluminum wire; urethane foam; aerosol paint

60 × 15 × 16 in

The Unknown, 2022

Mixed media: plywood; faux fur; yarn; acrylic paint; charm

45 x 52 in

Gift Box 2, 2022

Mixed media: OSB; fabric; yarn; polyester fiber; aluminum wire; foam ball; resin; acrylic box

55 × 47 × 30 in

Gift Box 1, 2021

Mixed media: OSB; fabric; yarn; polyester fiber; aluminum wire; resin; acrylic box

25 × 25 × 30 in

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