{"id":271279,"date":"2025-07-18T05:55:16","date_gmt":"2025-07-18T05:55:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/271279\/"},"modified":"2025-07-18T05:55:16","modified_gmt":"2025-07-18T05:55:16","slug":"tender-cute-and-absurd-rong-baos-inflatable-sculptures-plug-into-the-emotional-wobble-colossal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/271279\/","title":{"rendered":"Tender, Cute, and Absurd, Rong Bao’s Inflatable Sculptures Plug Into the ‘Emotional Wobble’ \u2014 Colossal"},"content":{"rendered":"

From PVC, silicone-coated fabrics, nylon mesh, electronics, and other found or manipulated materials, Rong Bao<\/a> creates oddly personable inflatable sculptures. \u201cMy fascination with inflatable structures began when I realized how absurd, tender, and unstable they could be\u2014all at once,\u201d the artist tells Colossal. \u201cUnlike rigid materials, inflatables breathe, wobble, collapse, and revive. They seem alive, with a sense of humor and vulnerability that deeply resonates with me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rong\u2019s ongoing series of alien-like creatures tread the boundaries between humor and discomfort, abstraction and representation, and what she describes as \u201ccuteness and existential instability.\u201d The artist takes on a role akin to a playful mad scientist\u2014just imagine Frankenstein\u2019s unpredictable monster as a bouncy, neon pink confection.<\/p>\n

\"an\u201cAlien Babe No.1\u201d<\/p>\n

Rong spends several weeks to months getting each composition just right by sketching, prototyping elements, testing inflation behavior and structural integrity, then fabricating the final piece. \u201cIt often involves a lot of trial and error\u2014and a lot of laughter and despair in between,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Rong was recently featured in an episode of the BBC\u2019s children\u2019s television program, Go Get Arty<\/a>, and is currently working on a commission for Harper\u2019s Bazaar China that incorporates a traditional, lightweight silk fabric with deep cultural roots in China.<\/p>\n

\u201cI see my practice as a playground of soft contradictions\u2014between seriousness and silliness, desire and failure, monumentality and deflation,\u201d Rong says. \u201cMany of my pieces are meant to be touched, entered, or even played with. I love it when viewers smile and laugh, and then suddenly feel a little unsettled. That moment of emotional wobble\u2014that\u2019s the space I\u2019m after.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rong\u2019s work was recently on view in Selfridges\u2019 display windows, part of a series titled New Age in which the department store showcased 15 emerging artists. And she also recently completed a large-scale commission titled \u201cCarnivorous Bloom\u201d for Pinacoteca Agnelli<\/a> in Torino, Italy. Find more on the artist\u2019s website<\/a> and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"anSelfridges installation view of \u201cCrown of Perception\u201d<\/p>\n

\"aDetail of \u201cAlien Babe No.1\u201d<\/p>\n

\"an\u201cEnigma\u201d<\/p>\n

\"an\u201cSanctuary of the Unclaimed\u201d<\/p>\n

\"an\u201cPink Roundabout\u201d<\/p>\n

\"an\u201cTriple Bills\u201d<\/p>\n

\"aDetail of \u201cAlien Babe No.2\u201d<\/p>\n

\"an\u201cUnnamed Directory\u201d<\/p>\n

Do stories and artists like this matter to you?<\/strong> Become a Colossal Member<\/a> now, and support independent arts publishing.<\/p>\n