Yuefeng(Eileen) Li

Fire and Imprint: Coexistence in Vacant Space

Fire and Imprint: Coexistence in Vacant Space, 23.5”x12”, mix-medium on ceramics, 2022

“My thesis experiments comment on the topic of the Anthropocene. Including four paintings on canvas, eight pieces of ceramic panels and one metal sculpture. Looking through the lens of the ecofeminism theory of Chthulucene and visual anthropologist Gregory Bateson's interconnectedness of mind and nature. The research-creation is guided by the idea of "living with trouble"(Haraway) in the "pluralistic path"(Bateson) of environmental change through anthropogenic and natural processes.The thesis is my critical inquiry on how the environment constraints and enables a single organism in a complex adaptive system? What degree of ownership and control does an individual have in such dynamic systems?My journey started from my fascination with fire ecology searching for a unique voice and process for my artistic identity. The disturbance of natural elements such as fire or snow is considered part of a system. The relationship between potential and connectedness defines the current state of the system. A complex adaptive systems approach by Christopher Bone provides a framework to connect, analyze, and organize mind and nature in the era of Chthulucene.Exploitation, conservation, release, and reorganization are four steps of the adaptive cycle (Bone). They are used for me to organize the destruction and reconstruction activities concerning the ecosystem in the context of Chthulucene through a mental process.”