Artwork copyright Sumi Wu. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission, by Dale Lang, 2022.

Artwork copyright Sumi Wu. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission, by Dale Lang, 2022.

Artwork copyright Sumi Wu. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission, by Dale Lang, 2022.

Artwork copyright Sumi Wu. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission, by Dale Lang, 2022.

Artwork copyright Sumi Wu. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission, by Dale Lang, 2022.

Artwork copyright Sumi Wu. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission, by Dale Lang, 2022.

Artwork copyright Sumi Wu. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission, by Dale Lang, 2022.

Artwork copyright Sumi Wu. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission, by Dale Lang, 2022.

Artwork copyright Sumi Wu. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission, by Dale Lang, 2022.

Discovery Forest, 2022

Sumi Wu
(American, born 1967)

Location: Parkwood Elementary, Shoreline

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

Discovery Forest by Sumi Wu asks you to see how individual, small elements contribute to the larger overall imagery of the artwork. The artwork is made of seven, six-sided, painted steel columns with small cut out shapes throughout. As you walk around the balcony level at the school, the columns create different scenes. Small-scale images of nature native to the Pacific Northwest add up to form the larger imagery.

From one angle, a mountain lion face is made up of small-scale images of grain, grasses, brambles, and eyes like pools of water. It is outlined by crows and red-winged blackbirds. From another angle, you will see a night sky bursting with stars. From another side angle, you will see a scene with plants and flowers. Wu wants you to notice both the “big picture” and the “small picture”.

This artwork was acquired for the State Art Collection in partnership with Shoreline School District.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Portland, Oregon-based artist Sumi Wu is a sculptor, welder, potter, costume designer, theater set designer, and dancer. Her artworks often focus on ideas about science and technology.

Sumi Wu grew up on a farm in Eastern Washington and in Los Alamos, New Mexico. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Japanese Studies from Stanford University in California, after starting in the physics department. She went on to study pottery, sculpture, and drawing at the University of Alaska and welding at Clark College in Vancouver, Washington.