Artist Statement: Lynn Lin

Bio: Lynn Lin, 36, New York

Instagram: @l.y.n.n.l.i.n

Title of work:  Greenlight

Where to see it: “It’s Time“, Ryan Hastings Gallery, Brooklyn

Three words to describe it: Symbolic, affable, curious.

What was on your mind at the time: It was an effort to create a souvenir that represents the spirit of New York. I drew inspiration from the city’s ordinary traffic lights and their connection to New York’s distinctive jaywalking culture. Through this intellectual and symbolic exercise, the artifact was born—a celebration of the city’s relentless energy and fearless spirit.

An interesting feature that’s not immediately noticeable: The object is made entirely from studio materials, particularly the paper that imitates an LCD screen. This choice highlights the democratic nature of the traffic light itself and its reinterpretation within the work. By using accessible, everyday materials to recreate a familiar urban symbol, the piece invites reflection on how ordinary objects can carry collective meaning.

What the work reflects your practice as a whole: I extract abstraction from the ordinary, uncovering hidden beauty in everyday experiences. Believing in the power of storytelling through design, I create function-informed forms and emotion-empowered experiences to forge a streamlined and enlightened contemporary lifestyle. The Greenlight draws the curiosity of a modified familiar and universal object that invites the audience further exploration of the conceptual meaning behind.

One song that captures its essence: “Dancing in the Street,” by Martha Reeves & The Vandellas