My Robot Factory has a very significant and personal Biblical meaning for me, and I pray the viewer and the person reading this will be impacted by it as well. My Robot Factory has the concept of turning crumpled pieces of paper into robots. Another way to look at it, is that the factory turns trash into treasure. I am not ashamed in stating that I am nothing without Christ Jesus. He is my savior and my salvation. I cannot turn myself into anything beautiful, I need Jesus in me to change me and make my life into something I could never imagine. I am not going to sugar coat it, before I met Jesus I was trash. I was hopeless, without purpose and I was failing at fixing myself, time and time again. I was a crumpled piece of paper that the world had used up and thrown away. But Jesus saw me and had compassion on me. He knew what He could turn me into and had a plan for me. He poured his righteousness into me, even though I did not deserve it. This is why only the robots and the paint being poured into the factory are in color. I see Jesus as the paint being poured inside the factory and coating the robots. To put it frankly, it is an analogy for Jesus being in each and every believer that chooses to follow Him. Jesus picks people up when they are at their lowest and turns them into something priceless. Jesus has turned me into a treasure, and I will follow Him all the days of my life.
Construction
Year after year, college students have loads of spare/used paper that they throw away after their classes end. All this paper is seen as trash, some have scribbles on them, some have notes and others are completely blank and usable. Either way the students just have no use for it anymore with their classes already over, and all of it usually ends up being thrown out.
My communication objective was to create an art piece that actively shows the viewer that scraps of paper can be turned into something useful. More importantly I am hopeful, that even though this is a 3D paper concept, people can see and understand the larger concept that Jesus has done the same for us.
On the right side we have crumples of paper being moved into the main factory on a conveyor belt. At the top of the factory there’s a bucket pouring colorful paint inside. The main factory also has a gear system, an empty/full meter and an on/off lever on the front of it. With the lights turned on, it looks as if things are being welded and put together inside. On the left side, colorful and unique robots are being moved on a conveyor belt to the outside world. I made everything white except for the paint and the robots. Not only does this make the important things pop, but it also has Biblical meaning.
I used thick white paper and cardstock for the main factory and bucket. I glued small paper circles to it, so it looked like bolts were holding it together. I used leftover paper for the gears, words, and bolts. I used colored paper for the robots and paint. lollipop sticks were perfect for the legs on the conveyor belt, bucket legs and lever. This sculpture was entered into Liberty Universities’ Research Week and placed in the final round!