Fir Mignon (2023), wood, epoxy clay, oil paint, 8.75 x 8.75 x 3 inches. All images courtesy of Joyce Lin, shared with permissionUncanny Objects by Joyce Lin Blur Distinctions Between Reality and the FantasticalJanuary 21, 2025ArtDesignKate MothesWhether enclosed in clear acrylic or seemingly sliced from a single tree, Joyce Lins sculptures examine themes of interconnectedness and the Anthropocene, which describes our planets most recent epoch and the way humans significantly impact its ecosystems and climate. I am both disturbed and captivated by the paradoxes of industrialized society, Lin says in a statement, where modes of production and disposal are often obscured to the public, yet people have more technology than ever to make their imagined worlds a reality.Wood Chair in Fir (2024), oil paint, epoxy clay, plywood, MDF, and wood, 16.5 x 16.25 x 34.75 inchesLins uncanny pieces meld form and function, taking the recognizable shapes of furniture and food and transforming them into playful meditations on mass production and consumption. She often uses organic materials like wood, augmenting the surfaces with synthetic mediums like epoxy, resin, and oil paint to preserve their appearance in perpetuity. Some works, like the Wooden Chair series, are entirely composed of engineered materials.I love to dissect and understand things, and my works often feature objectsusually a chairsliced open to expose an inner structure; to express an inner truth, so to speak, Lin tells Colossal. She manipulates the structures extensively, blurring the reality of what she describes as the insides and the outsides, so the composition takes on a fantastical quality.I dont think theyre so convincing when you really zoom in, so its interesting to see people assume theyre somehow grown or AI-generated, even though they take an incredible amount of manual labor and time to create, Linn adds. I often think about distortions in our perception of reality, (which is) probably why people keep sending me those is-it-cake videos.The artist is currently working toward a solo exhibition later this year at R & Company, and you can explore more on her website and Instagram.Exploded Chair (2019), maple and acrylic, 16 x 16 x 35 inchesWoodnanas (2024) wood, steel, polyester resin, and epoxy clayWood Chair in Ash (2024), oil paint, epoxy clay, plywood, MDF, and wood. Beetles: epoxy, wire, 16.5 x 16.25 x 34.75 inchesDetail of Wood Chair in AshRoot Chair (2023), found driftwood and walnut stain, 29 x 30 x 34 inchesWood StoolNext article