Sea Choi
In Bathtub series, artist Sea Choi uses upcycled bathtubs to explore contemporary desires through immersive, multi-sensory installations. The series combines sculpture, painting, and installation to investigate how modern temptations are shaped by media and consumption.
The artist collects the abandoned bathtub, trash, and recreates with them. Discarded materials and natural ingredients are used as well. By mixing the two different materials, she depicts the environmental situations realistically. Each repurposed bathtub is released with the installation pieces which are made by various waste and organic materials. Plastic, aluminium, cardboard, sinthetic fiber and glass from everyday waste consists of the most part of the sculptures. The scale of the works represents the seriousness of waste emission. When the works are opened to the public, Sea Choi implements audience participation. The work awakes the audiences in a multi-sensory way. Through the sustainable, communicative project, she is making her own way as a sculptor and environmentalist with the object, bathtub.
During the preparation of her degree show in 2021, she found an archaic white bathtub at a second-hand store located nearby her flat. She moved it into an empty room in her flat for upcycling. After cleaning it, she painted it with marker, paint, and spray and then sticked the advertisement papers and stickers on the surface. In the final presentation, she filled the bathtub with cottons and toys. She wanted to express narcissism in the contemporary time related to media in funky, mischievous way. In this way, she emphasized the materials, gestures and the impression of Graffiti art. She also created an artificial cactus and displayed it with the first bathtub at her exhibition space. The composition evoked a cozy atmosphere of a domestic bathroom. Under the sunshine through the wide window, beside a plant pot, Bathtub 1 tranquilly sits.
Bathtubs 2–4 examine personal cravings and relationships. Bathtub 3 uses chocolate to symbolize greed—a sweet yet addictive desire. Bathtub 4 functions as an interactive honey tomb, satirizing how social media idealizes and commodifies relationships, encouraging visitors to taste, play, and photograph themselves within the installation.
Bathtubs 5 and 6 address broader social appetites. Bathtub 5, shaped like a cereal bowl, critiques fast-food culture and its link to the "tasty yet toxic" nature of social media. Bathtub 6 employs dark red tones, silver, and gold to explore the dangerous allure of material and sexual desires, allowing tactile but restricted interaction.
The recent ones, Bathtubs 7 to 9 shift toward ecological and spiritual themes. Some highlights forest destruction by blending industrial materials like cement with natural elements; some transforms into a dark blue cradle, celebrating spiritual freedom through graffiti and repurposed objects. The last one, Bathtub 9, centred on life, uses water, organs, and bones to evoke fundamental life forces and biblical symbolism.
Throughout the project, Choi employs discarded materials to mirror the examined desires. The works are displayed in both galleries and unconventional spaces (parks, parking lots), expanding the role of public art. Choi aims to foster discernment about the desires propagated by media and modern life, often referencing biblical wisdom as a counterpoint.
In her practice, one of the most influential inspirations is the Bible. Biblical factors such as rainbow, palm tree, tomb, and the cross can be found in her works to explore freedom, equality, and vitality. She wants everyone to enjoy her artworks regardless of the age or race.