Su Su || Bombyx Paintings

Like the silk moths the series is named for, Chinese-born, Pittsburgh-based artist Su Su’s Bombyx Paintings quiver with a physical fervor. Thin strands of oil paint in an innumerable amount of colors reach through the silk tulle foundation of each work, forming highly-texturized self-portraits that turn gravity upside down.

The process behind Su Su’s Bombyx Paintings is one of her own invention. Using fine-tipped syringes filled with oil paint, the artist gingerly injects color through a stretched sheet of silk. At a painstaking pace, Su Su’s compositions come to life via this amalgamation of texture—only visible to the artist through a large mirror laid underneath.