Candice Lin in “Realms of the Real”

Version without descriptive audio available here.

From her Los Angeles studio to museums and galleries worldwide, artist Candice Lin creates works of art that steam and bubble, emit pungent odors, and invite touch and embodied exploration. Through multi-sensory sculptural installations, the artist crafts fantastical fictions that are grounded in rigorous research of materials involved in complex histories of trade, labor, exploitation, and desire. The artist’s investigations allow her to mine unexplored paths and create works using a range of unconventional creatures and materials, including porcelain, indigo, and cochineal, as well as flesh-eating beetles, silkworms, and urine. This documentary short follows the artist down the myriad rabbit holes of her practice, revealing how she incorporates materials with deep historical resonances to complicate official narratives. “What are the things that can’t be verified, but probably happened, and are important stories to tell?” asks Candice Lin. “I use the speculative aspect of my work to allow those things to come to the surface.”

This film was directed by Stephanie Wang-Breal, produced by Nan Sandle, edited by Colin Nusbaum, and photographed by James Fideler.