Irene Cai

Artist Bio

Irene Cai was born in Argentina, rose in China, until the beginning of higher education. She received her Fine Arts Bachelor degree (BFA) in painting and printmaking from Virginia Commonwealth University during 2019, and her MFA from California College of Arts during 2022. She spent her two years designing and making “machines” as substitutes for her to make art.

Artist Statement

Dogs, cats, goldfishes, flowers… Pets are always surrounding us. Most of them have shorter life span than us. We rise them up, and watch them getting older and dying. So what is the difference between taking care and sending them to death?

Difficult questions need machines to assist. The nature of plant, the gravity act on water, the capacity of paper, etc…, all of these variables need to be considered carefully. Only in this way, the machine can blur the contour line of the plants, and process the input into a readable output. Non repeatable drawings are shown on the paper. Once those patterns been seen, are there any connection built between viewers and plants? Are those patterns qualified enough to speak for plants? Or, are they just some random stain marks only? 

    But no matter the answers are; the actions of choosing plants that I like to take care, inviting them to work my machine, and watching them die in front of me are undoubtedly real. And machines are recording these quickly and honestly.