“Koi” is a non-representational sculpture made with polymer clay. The resemblance of a koi fish is what led to the sculpture’s title. Although it may not completely look like a koi fish, the fundamentals of what makes a koi, or a fish in general, are present; with its distinct red, black, and white color scheme. The sculpture is a cylindrical object with two fins on a pointy end and two fins on either side of the rounded end. The textures are also very prominent with water having long thin lines, the koi having, what it seems like, scales, and the fins having a thin sort of fabric-like appearance which makes it look like and flowy.
The inspiration behind this sculpture is from a legend, Waterfall Legend. It is said that swimming upstream the Yellow River, was a school of golden koi. At the end of the river, there was a waterfall which made the majority of koi turn back; however, there was one koi which refused to give up and leaped from the river in hopes to reach the top of the waterfall. To no avail, the koi failed and was mocked by the local demons. After years of trying, a koi finally reached the top of the waterfall and was turned into a golden dragon, which was the symbol for perseverance and determination. The sculpture similar to the Waterfall Legend has a koi jumping out of the water. One would’ve noticed that the Koi is undoubtedly longer than a regular one, similar to a dragon.
The meaning behind this sculpture is perseverance. It is how the artist persevered through a medium she is not at all familiar with to create this sculpture. It also shows the determination this has, as the sculpture has no wiring attached to it, making it as if it’s actually jumping out of flowing water.
The artist wanted to explore textured and shapes with this sculpture. She also didn’t want to bake the polymer clay in order to keep the shiny appearance of it, almost as if it were really wet. The texture behind this, is to emphasize elements of the sculpture and not make it look too flat. Lastly, she used striking colors to catch the viewer's attention to a meaningful piece.
