CAT CHIU

“I Am San Diego”

30 Bus Shelters

2024

Funded through California Arts Council’s Creative Corps and the City of San Diego’s Far South Border North in collaboration with Clear Channel Outdoor, the “I Am San Diego” showcases the works of San Diego Unified students on 30 MTS transit shelters throughout the city. Students responded to "What makes San Diego your home?" or "How do you connect with San Diego?" The project highlights the diverse perspectives of San Diego youth, while providing visibility, presence, & fostering a sense of community & pride. Participating schools include: Chavez Elementary, Crawford HS, Encanto Elementary, Hancock Elementary, Hardy Elementary, Marston Middle, McKinley Elementary, Millennial Tech Middle, Muirlands Middle, Pendleton Elementary, San Diego SCPA, and Zamorano Elementary.

Plastic Float

(Viewed during the Tournament of Roses Parade 2016)

Plastic bags, plastic bottles, and trailer

10’x12’

2016

Commissioned by the National Endowment for the Arts’ My Pasadena project, a parade float was created from donated plastic bags and bottles. Partnering with Pasadena Unified School District and Side Street Projects, over a thousand students decorated and contributed to the float using plastic waste. The project was on view during the world renowned Tournament of Roses Parade in 2016. This non-traditional version offers a contrasting perspective, imagining in this time of anthropocene, what if recyclable materials were used for such a traditional event.

http://sidestreet.org/cat-phillips/

Playback

VHS and cassette tapes

3- 80”x80”

Installed at San Diego Int’l Airport

2021

Installed at Lancaster, PA Train Station

3- 48”x80”

Electronic waste

2018

Created for the Lancaster (PA) Train Station concourse cases. Inspired by the use of advanced technology in operational systems for transportation and station customer visual information, the project simulates the network of cables, wires, and programs that helps run this mode of public transportation. The project utilizes salvaged materials including 8-inch, 5 ¼ inch, 3 ½ inch floppy disks, iPhones, and iPads.

Recollect

35mm slides

3- 50”x50”

Permanent collection of the City of Redmond, WA

2021

“Recollect” repurposes discarded 35mm slides into illuminated lanterns, sparking dialogue around the rapid turnover of technology and the disposability of media. Evoking a sense of nostalgia and memory, the work also references the traditional Filipino parol, bridging personal histories with cultural symbolism.

Tied

550 Cords

7- 50”x50”

Installed at NTC Arts District

2023

Installed at the former Naval Training Center’s Arts District in Point Loma, this project uses traditional fiber art techniques as a nod to the US Navy’s skill in knotting and rigging methods. The seven large scale tapestries include the three most common knots learned by the new recruits: square knot, clove hitch, and bowline. Each work also resembles a ribbon bar as well as the traditional weaving mat “banig” from the Philippines.

The Kites series is an “upcycle” project depicting a play between natural and synthetic elements. The process of upcycling involves the conversion of waste materials into a new material. Discarded plastic grocery bags (plarn) were hand crocheted to form the kites. Images inspired by nature were deliberately included in the kite’s pattern to enhance its implication. This juxtaposition creates a dialogue on how discarded materials are viewed and treated even through our environmentally conscious community.

Works installed at: Amelia Island (FL), Vista (CA), Palm Desert (CA), Roanoke (VA), Lake Oswego (OR), O’Fallon (MO)

That’s Swell

Mixed media (surfboard, donated shells, student made ceramic sculptures)

Seven 6’ to 10’ surfboards

Permanent collection Carlsbad High School, Carlsbad, California

2023

Students created a collaborative sculpture project that was created from donated surfboards then upcycled with shells, handbuilt clay reliefs, glass, and mosaics. The project enabled students to understand the process of public art, but also offered an opportunity to participate in civic engagement with a message regarding conservation, sustainability, and environmental efforts.

nstalled at Museum of Photographic Arts @ San Diego Museum of Art

Book jackets

2025

The installation is composed of folded paper forms- fortune tellers or cootie catchers, traditionally associated with childhood play and hidden knowledge. Made entirely from discarded book jackets, the work reclaims overlooked narratives and censored stories through form and illumination. Each folded element becomes both a vessel and a metaphor, holding memory and meaning. “Booked” invites reflection on who gets to tell their story, what gets redacted, and how we might reimagine knowledge as something communal, playful, and resilient.

for Las Vegas City Hall (Arts and Culture Commission)

E-waste (VHS, cassette tapes, 8 mm negatives, slides)

9- 36"x72"

2016

for Nashville International Airport

VHS magnetic tapes

3- 7’ rings

2016

World Design Capital: Friendship Bracelet

Primed canvas, paint markers, and acrylic paint

400’

2024

A binational public art project in which students painted a strand of a lengthy “friendship bracelet.” This is a cross-cultural collaboration that celebrates the unique relationship between neighboring communities while highlighting the talent and creativity of students from both sides of the border. Part of the World Design Capital initiative, participating San Diego schools include: Crawford High School, Creative Performing Media Arts, Horace Mann Middle School, La Jolla High School, Lincoln High School, San Diego High School, Scripps Ranch High School. Participating schools from Tijuana include: Ambiente Montessori, Colegio Eiffel, Escuela Secundaria Técnica Municipal No 1.

Installed at Millard Sheets Art Center

for Los Angeles County Fair 2018

Plastic bottle caps and dry cleaners garment bags

An homage to Elmer Long’s work in the Mojave Desert. Apart from the project utilizing plastic bottles, the work also creates a dialogue regarding the abundance of consumer products and its inevitability in our culture of consumption. It also draws conversations regarding the environment, conservation, ecology, sustainable resources, and post-consumer product presence.

Collaboration with San Diego International Airport and High Tech High Media Arts

2016