12 Simple Yet Transformative Totems Whittled By Rebecca Szeto
Though Rebecca Szeto is renowned for her Paintbrush Portraits series, in her most recently released works, she explores the value of simplicity. Inspired by her first art lesson at age four, where she learned to draw a simple rabbit, made her realise Szeto realised the transformative power of art—how a graphite line can become anything.
Szeto channels this insight into her Totem series, aiming to discover the balance of space between Nothingness and Something-ness. Her post-linguistic works use the act of whittling as a metaphor for deconstructing material and building meaning beyond spoken language. Inspired by nature’s cycles of decay and renewal, Szeto explores the transformative space between Trash and Transformation, guided by instinct and chance.
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#1 Barn Owl, 2014
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#2 Caryatid, 2014
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Szeto exclusively uses salvaged wood from her woodworker friend’s shop, found kindling, driftwood, and birch branches for this project. In her own words, she explains, “I have always utilised repurposed materials throughout my work. The paint brushes for my portraits were just one of many accessible raw materials. The totem-like works actually predated the Paintbrush Portraits by five years, originally carved from discarded stretcher bars. The Totem series returned due to my friendship with a woodworker in my studio building. I would look through his bins for long, thin wood trimmings. My approach is rooted in using what’s available nearby, adopting a ‘waste not, want not’ philosophy. This also helps me stay present. The Totem pieces are more emotionally motivated, universal reflections on the human condition rather than specific cultural constructs like art history or politics.”
#3 Little Medici, 2011
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#4 Petit Prince, 2008
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#5 The Space Within, 2011
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The San-Franciscan artist’s goal is to reinvent the old through a fresh lens, similar to bringing people together. Szeto says, “As both a physical and emotional dumpster diver, I’ve always been drawn to the forgotten and marginalised, embodying a phoenix-from-the-ashes spirit. This reflects a search for value and meaning beyond the surface. With the rise of divisiveness and labels from all political sides, humanity gets lost in semantics, when we actually need more listening, acceptance, and empathy.”
#6 Marble Faun, 2011
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#7 Offering (Wabi Sabi), 2014
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#8 Earth & Sky, 2011
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#9 Coupling, 2004
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#10 Red-tailed Hawk, 2014
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#11 Foresee the Truth, 2005
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#12 Matter, 2011
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