Transition to Cyborgs | Cy-Candy: Female Bodies and Cyborg Theory
Lee’s first experiments in cyborg representation before her main series were Cyborg Red and Cyborg Blue (1997-98, figure 24-25), two installation sculptures made of cast silicone. They are truncated, abstracted, and mechanized versions of organic human bodies that are propped up by steel supports and sprout plastic tubing from within their bodies. Cyborg Red and Blue differ from her following series in two important ways: color and presentation. Though they are composed of cast silicone like Cyborg W1-W4 of her following series, they are colored a bold red and light blue, and appear semi-translucent because of the spotlights behind them. This translucency gives a visual sense that they are light or insubstantial, as well as non-human. Secondly, while the works in the following series are all hung, liberated from their pedestals, these two are thoroughly grounded. Each sculpture rests one foot on the worn, well-used wood platforms, and the black metal supports further anchor them to the