Mimi Bai’s work investigates how people experience and perform power at individual and interpersonal levels. Bai examines conflict, intimacy, and identity in relationships and then designs furniture to reflect and reshape our understanding of these relationships. Chairs are a recurring motif in Bai’s work because of their implicit reference to the body as well as their recognizable form and symbolic value.
At MAD, Bai will generate an inventory of chair models made of paper, wax, and Masonite. The models function as three-dimensional pictograms that the visitor can read, compose, and interpret. As part of her research, Bai will invite visitors to share their interpretations of the chairs and any connections they may make to their own experiences.
Bai is currently enrolled in the Whitney Museum of American Art Independent Study Program. She earned an MFA in Sculpture/Dimensional Studies from Alfred University and a BA in Sociology from Wesleyan University. For more information, please visit: www.mimibiyaobai.com.
