Yi Ming Li
Fashion Revival
Painting
2021
Photoshop and Oil on Canvas Paintings
1920 x 1080
Fashion Revival is a series of hybrid paintings that incorporates Qing Dynasty textile patterns into urban clothing and settings. My goal is to showcase the symbolic and cultural meaning of these traditional attires and their relevancy in the 21st century. I use symbolic motifs from the Qing Dynasty’s fashion to explore cultural identity issues and the impact of western clothing in urban Chinese society. Fashion Revival brings attention to how modern society and its norms are shaped by colonization and capitalism. These hybrid paintings are inspired by China’s Hanfu Movement, which began in 2003 and individuals wear traditional clothing to bring awareness about their own heritage. This series includes characters wearing both traditional and modern clothing as a means to explore the struggle of maintaining a cultural identity in a globalized world. It empowers modern Chinese individuals to reclaim their history and express their own identities and values through fashion.
“Fashion Revival is a narrative series of hybrid paintings exploring Qing Dynasty clothing patterns with contemporary attires. This brings my heritage into my art practice, through using cultural, historical Chinese clothing in my imagery. I incorporated various imperial motifs on the compositions of my collage paintings to remind viewers that they carry cultural and symbolic meaning. By doing this I am hoping to show these Qing Dynasty textile patterns to pay an homage to these patterns. This culture had major influence over the west where the British Opium War lead towards the dominance of foreign power to control factories and ports. This last imperial dynasty saw a cultural shift of its court robe’s textile patterns when its cultural and symbolic meaning phased out during the 21st century.I am explore the shift of the historical patterns’ symbolism and how the use of western clothing is ubiquitous in contemporary Chinese society. These hybrid paintings focus on how traditional Chinese robes from the Qing Dynasty are not worn by many people in metropolitan cities, due to past historical events that have reshaped China’s fashion society. Fashion Revival refers to images of individuals wearing these robes from historical eras that redefine the cultural identity of Chinese people in a modern society. My goal is to explore these clothing’s symbolic motifs and its effect on the urban pedestrians. Among the motifs I include the dragon which represents authority, the pheasant which representing literary refinement and the peony flower symbolizing wealth and advancement in life. I choose to incorporate these patterns onto my mixed-media collages to bring back its ethical message that has been phased out after the fall of the Qing Dynasty in 1912. The pattern’s symbolic imagery will help remind viewers how traditional clothing can influence a person’s life by what it represents from a social and cultural context instead of just its aesthetic quality. My inspiration for this project was based on an actual event occurring in China’s modern society called the “Hanfu Movement”. The “Hanfu movement” is a social-cultural movement that began in 2003 where people promote the usage of their traditional costumes to raise awareness to viewers about their cultural and social identity. Also, I was compelled by Guo Pei, a Chinese fashion designer, who made dresses to bring back royal embroidery patterns from China’s historical dynasty so that Chinese youths do not forget their heritage. Western clothing and foreign powers have changed Chinese people’s minds about clothing or fashion choice in the 21st century. It is magnificent how the court robe’s textile patterns from the Qing Dynasty carry so much symbolic and cultural meaning in terms of social status and ranking throughout one’s daily lives. I am hoping to explore the issues based on Chinese pedestrians’ negative views on traditional clothing, China’s materialism culture, as well as my life as a Chinese-Canadian immigrant in Toronto. I hope to inspire other diasporic Chinese to help them understand their own roots which has been lost due to historical influences from colonialization as well as the collapse of the Qing Dynasty under western imperialism. I paint skyscrapers on canvas using my oil paints. Then, I save them onto my laptop and using Adobe Photoshop digitally paint the imperial court robes. I then incorporate imperial court robe textiles or patterns onto the figure’s clothing. The pattern designs reflect social status and worn traditionally by the emperors, empresses, and consorts. The theme of the collage painting series was inspired by works such as Zhao Kailin’s Memory’s of my Youth (2009) and Maria Magdalena Campos-Pon’s performance work at Venice Biennale called Letra Del Ano (2013) that reference cultural identity issues and uses fashion as a means of expression. I hope my viewers will be able to gain a better understanding of the history of traditional Chinese clothing through the use of imperial Chinese textile patterns. ”
Work by
Yi Ming Li aka. 鳴鳴
Drawing & Painting in Expanded Animation
“I am a visual artist who loves to work with both Photoshop and Oil on Canvas paintings. My works are inspired by the themes of traditional Chinese culture, love, Buddhism, and portraiture. I address...” [More]