I'm Grace(Shuhan) Li, a current senior at Bancroft school. This is my art portfolio that traces my studio life in the high school.
Let's explore different sections of my work.
Red and Depiction of Feathers
Sharpie on canvas/paper 3 pieces
There is a scientific theory that human evolve from birds.
Documentary "Fire and Feather" inspired me, I depict the connection between human faces and bird feather ornaments through strong contrast color such as red and black.
In addition to the aesthetic sense, whether human beings use the hair of cognate ancestors as decoration also represents an affectionate behavior.
Women in Greek Mythology
Digital Painting, 2 pieces
Greek Mythology often tells the story of ancient epics: formation of world, war of gods, born of human, journey of heroes. The theme of my work is Greek Mythology focusing on the depiction of human body and clothing. The relationship between gods and humans, especially women, draws an interesting part in the story. The gender figure depicted in myths reflect how the modern society shape gender in some ways.
Achilles' Fall
Sculpturing Galatea
The women that played the role of protagonists in my series are Galatea and Thetis
Anonymous’ Hands
Mixed Media, Paper Mache, 1 piece
I choose hands (especially women’s hands) as the theme. I used “18th century women '' as the base for this sculpture, and used the pages from “Greek expression and gender” as the cover for the paper mache. I get to sculpt out the rough skin of human hands. I observed my 79 year old grandmother’s hands and then realized that even though I've been away for three years, I still remember the texture of her skin: dry and fragile. Her longevity as well as the beauty and struggle she experienced are all being recorded in the hand. The traces of skin are humans' growth rings. I want to memorize, but also express the hardship she went through as she grew, developed a full personality, and eventually turned into an independent self. However this book sculpture is not personal but a more recognition of our gender identity. Women have gone through a serious struggle in society and we are in the process of discovering what we truly are. During this process, our skin becomes rough, but we are always positive and enthusiastic in reaching for the butterflies made by the bows. As the saying goes, there was suffering before, but then happiness.
School Piano Project--Jungle Book
Mixed Media, 1 piece
Imagine we are studying in a jungle, and the low hooves of birds as well as the roars of beasts form the melody of our school life. The variety of animals and mystery of jungle inspired me. This project is created to resonate the melody of jungle and piano itself. Creating a perfect symphony of man-made object and nature.
Surrealism Series
Acrylic on Paper, 2 pieces
Inspired by Dali and Van Gogh, this series is created to explore the boundary of human imagination.
In the Desert
Odin's Eyes are Watching
Class and Club T-Shirt Design
Digital painting, 2 pieces
This project is for the t-shirt design in my English class as well as GSA club.
I think about Adam and Eve in the bible, where they use fig leaves to cover their bodies up because they feel embarrassed showing their naked bodies I found this part interesting because the leaves eventually turned out to be clothes that cover people’s bodies; there is no specific rule that applies to which clothes man and women should wear and men should wear. Whatever women/men wear does not really matter since what they are wearing is just for decoration and privacy. Judging a man/woman based on their clothes and saying it’s not womanly/manly enough is actually based on a biased perception; people should not be afraid of slut-shaming and not be ashamed of wearing something they are “not supposed to wear”.
Personal Clothes and Charcoal art
Mixed Media, Charcoal on paper, 2 pieces
In memory for my middle school life back in China, I drew the school uniform on a piece of plastic board and hanged it in front of the view of my dorm. This experience for me feels like a realistic dream.
To celebrate Mexico's traditional holiday--The Day of the Dead, I created a fully decorated woman with corolla.
Photograph Collections
Photography on phone/camera
Colored Photography Exercise
Windows of the Season
I use photography as a tool to record my life; they eventually came together to form a series of photos.
Up coming series: Women of Greece
Digital art/Charcoal on paper/Mixed media
I am truly inspired by the greek mythology and Mucha’s painting style and hope to dig deeper into this field. The gender figure depicted in myths reflect how the modern society views gender in different perceptions. Ancient Greece contains such fascinating influence.
My project will depict “Women in Greek Mythology” to emphasize the different perception of women in different situations; there are women that lead to a war, women that is been created and women who rebel. This will be a 3 series project using media of charcoal. Characters of interest are Galatea, Helen and Antigone.
My will to pick these female figures in this project is to demonstrate the different perception of gender in history and literature. These character all embrace an unreplicable identity and played distinctive roles in the myth no matter of morality. Their action expressed various understanding to gender value as well as the practice of womanism in the past, and even shedding new light on the modern gender construction.
Helen
Galatea
Antigone
The Complete Pieces (in the process)
Antigone will be done throughout this semester.
About Helen
Helen is the one who received the golden apple from the conflict between goddess Athena, Aphrodite and Hera; eventually this conflict become the Trojan war and result in the death and harm of human and gods. She is the most beautiful woman of Europe; women of Sparta, of Troy, of Greece; woman lead to a war.
I chose charcoal and paper as my media for painting, to show a more realistic and more colorful aspect of portrait. I used mainly yellow, blue and red in this painting and focus on the depiction of golden corolla, bracelet, arrows, aiming to create an individual who shines brightly and gracefully, most importantly, knowing that she is beautiful. The red clothes and lighting emphasize the cruelty of the Trojan War and the sacrifices of the people. Contrasted with the cool blue background, the red highlights that although she is absent from battlefield, she is also responsible for the pain outside the wall. Helen not a perfect character.
I also glued gold foil to color the golden apple, enhance its centrality and importance, pointed by arrows of conflict. The gold foil will also appear in the other two upcoming paintings of the series, as a media that run through the whole theme of “Women of Greece”.
The legends of Helen during her time in Troy are contradictory: Homer depicts her ambivalently, both regretful of her choice and sly in her attempts to redeem her public image. In general, she is a manipulative figure, knowing her beauty and uses it as a weapon of benefiting.
About Galatea
King Pygmalion is made into a sculptor who fell in love with an ivory statue he had crafted with his own hands. In answer to his prayers, the goddess Aphrodite brought it to life and united the couple in marriage. She is the ideal women for appearance and marriage in men’s minds.
I chose charcoal and paper as my media for painting, to show a more realistic and more colorful aspect of portrait. I used mainly yellow, blue and grey in this painting and focus on the depiction of golden bracelet, bird feather crown and Galatea’s puppet-like body structure, aiming to create an individual who centers peacefully but almost unconsciously, imitating her characteristics of being created out of marble. The usage of many grey-ish colors emphasize her inorganic emotions and inhuman organisms. She also has crown of blue birds, which represent joy, hope and freedom. On top of Galatea, are the eyes of Pygmalion, watching everything in the gloom. Along with the golden eyes of Pygmalion, Galatea also has her arm charms in gold corresponding to the color.
I glued gold foil to color the golden eyes, arm charms and the halo, stating that Galatea’s beauty comes from the perception of Pygmalion creating an ideal woman figure out of his expectation. In the other word, he manifests everything about Galatea. Gold foil will continue to appear in upcoming paintings of the serie, as a media that run through the whole theme of “Women of Greece”.
Artictic Influences
The artists that inspired me through my working process.
