Wibatika irenea Opening Reception

May 14, 2016 finally arrived. It was time to reveal this piece titled Wibatika irenea to the public. A second component to my vision is a performance art that I insisted on doing no matter how bad of an idea I thought it was, which will be in another post. Since this is part of my personal blog, I want to confess/document the titles I had previous to the current one, including:

• I know It’s Crap and I Don’t Want To Hear About It
• This is My Tree, and I Don’t Want To Hear Your Opinion, and I Will Not Answer Any Questions
• My Tree

I even wanted to put a station for writing comments on loose pieces of paper, with an shredder underneath the station marked Inbox, so that folks who had suggestions on how I could improve on it for “next time” could write down their suggestions and put it in the inbox (=shredder). Another idea was to put a notebook marked Comments and Suggestions You Are Welcome to Write, which I Will Never Read.

I anticipated so much negative feedback, and I could not stop the thoughts from coming like an avalanche.

After many, many tears, emails, texts and phone calls and a home visit by the curator, I followed advice from many people who said that I need to focus on the piece itself and not my anticipated notions of feedback that haven’t happened yet. I needed to listen to the artist, do what my innerFrancis Bacon wanted me to do. Also, if I didn’t want to hear their comments, I shouldn’t put any attention to that. Apparently, if I said, I didn’t want to hear comments, the first thing people will want to do is make comments.

On the day all the statements were due, I settled for the very first concept I had before presenting it to anyone, which was about the piece in its purest form, without any influences or judgments. The following is my final artist statement, followed by a few pictures during the reception.

A Newly Described Species: Wibatika irenea M.I Wibawa 2016

Wibatika irenea is a newly described species included in the genus Wibatika of the Wibatikaceae family, which originates from Indonesia, with ancestral roots from China.  The only known individual of this species is female and has both plant and human DNA.  Using carbon dating and verbal communication, plant geneticists, taxonomists, and anthropologists have determined that she was hybridized between Wibawaceae and Kartikaceae during the 1970s.

This species has been documented to have three forms: plant form, human form and miniature form.  In the plant form, this species grows to be a small tree up to 150 cm tall, blooms year round, and can thrive worldwide despite harsh conditions.  The human form, also known as the extrovert form, stands at 150 cm tall, looks, speaks and behaves like a human being.  Further studies are needed to understand the 2 cm tall miniature form, also known as the introvert form, which is a subset of the human form. Cloud is her preferred means of dispersal.  Behavioral scientists note that she is playful, joyous, and still making mistakes, but embraces them and is accepted by others nonetheless.  It is anticipated that this species will enjoy a long lifespan.

Discovery of this species is greatly credited to Maggie Yee as the major contributor to this expedition. Other supporters include: Cynthia Tom, Judith Nihei, Rachel Michaelson, Carolé Acuña, Larissa Pico, Chantelle Goldwaithe, Jessica Serran and her KYAITS group, Charley Paff and the Live Oak painting group, Brian Garvey, Brad Friedman, and all A Place of Her Own sisters.