Amazing Wood Sculptures Carved to Look Like Figures Are Trapped Inside

Tung Ming-Chin Sculpture

“Inner Turmoil”

Taiwanese artist Tung Ming-Chin is a master of transforming wood into pensive, emotive sculptures. His smoothly polished pieces transform as the viewer moves around them, slowly revealing surprises. Often dealing with themes of inner emotion and the subconscious mind, his sculptures regularly show figures trapped within the wood, pressing themselves against the outer layer in an attempt to break free.

His 2013 work Breath is a metaphor for “the transformation of a physical space into an inner psychological space affected by vision.” Below the wooden humps, which almost emerge from boxes like tortoise shells, limbs subtly jut out and lead the viewer to ponder the mystery encased within. In Inner Turmoil, the artist transforms wood into seemingly thin tissue paper nailed to a wall. From within, a person is pushing against this barrier, testing the limits of the space. This negative and positive space created by the figure can be viewed as a way to explore his inner unrest.

Other sculptures use familiar cultural symbols, such as in Between Round and Square: Past, Present, and Future. Here, Ming-Chin plays with the forms of a traditional jade cong and jade bi, which symbolized earth and sky in ancient Chinese culture. By using these familiar forms, he's able to play on nostalgia while looking toward the future.

“The work is presented in the prismatic form; the appearance of the object demonstrates the passing of time,” he writes. “The bottom of the pillar lays the ancient jade cong and the plastic bottle sits on the top. The hidden part in the middle implies the development and imagination of square and round during the course of time in the past. On the body of the pillar are mostly utensils, and from the utensils we can see the change of times and the lifestyle of people. Time passes and people change, but some truth and aesthetics will last forever.”

Tung Ming-Chin's wood sculptures often depict figures trapped in space as metaphors for inner emotions.

Tung Ming-Chin Wood Sculpture

“Breath”

Tung Ming-Chin Contemporary Sculpture

“Breath”

Tung Ming-Chin Sculpture

“The Birth of a New Hero”

Tung Ming-Chin Sculpture

“The Birth of a New Hero”

The Taiwanese artist also plays with traditional shapes from Chinese culture.

Tung Ming-Chin Sculpture

“Between Round and Square: Past, Present, and Future”

Tung Ming-Chin Sculpture

“Between Round and Square: Past, Present, and Future”

His skillful use of polished wood has brought the young sculptor great acclaim.

Tung Ming-Chin Sculpture

“Changes Inside the Forest”

Tung Ming-Chin Contemporary Sculpture

“New Lonely”

Tung Ming-Chin Contemporary Sculpture

“New Lonely”

Tung Ming-Chin Outdoor Sculpture

“A Stack of Heads”

Tung Ming-Chin Self-Portrait

“Self-Portrait”

Tung Ming-Chin Wood Sculpture

“Self-Portrait”

Tung Ming-Chin Wood Sculpture

“Self-Portrait”

My Modern Met granted permission to feature photos by the Taiwan Contemporary Art Archive.

Related Articles:

Hand-Carved Wooden Sculpture of a Monk Distorted by Glitches

Elegant Wood Sculptures Crafted from Discarded Tree Trunks and Branches

Masterfully Carved Wood Sculpture of a Submerged Man with a Pixelated Glitch

Interview: Evocative Bronze Sculptures of Books with Serene Faces Emerging from the Pages

Jessica Stewart

Jessica Stewart is a Staff Editor and Digital Media Specialist for My Modern Met, as well as a curator and art historian. Since 2020, she is also one of the co-hosts of the My Modern Met Top Artist Podcast. She earned her MA in Renaissance Studies from University College London and now lives in Rome, Italy. She cultivated expertise in street art which led to the purchase of her photographic archive by the Treccani Italian Encyclopedia in 2014. When she’s not spending time with her three dogs, she also manages the studio of a successful street artist. In 2013, she authored the book "Street Art Stories Roma" and most recently contributed to "Crossroads: A Glimpse Into the Life of Alice Pasquini." You can follow her adventures online at @romephotoblog.
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