VCA ART 2020

Ruby Li

Bachelor of Fine Arts (Drawing & Printmaking)

My paintings of Chinese guardian lions illustrate my relationship with my culture. As a child I wasn’t taught about the intricacies of being part of a racial minority and rejected my identity to fit into western society. As I reclaim my language, traditions, and Chinese name, I recognise that my experience of race is inseparable from my westernised way of thinking and self-presentation. I express this dilemma through my paintings- the obnoxious colours and exaggerated expressions depict distinctly oriental subject matter yet bear no stylistic resemblance to traditional Chinese art. Some of the statues I paint reside in Melbourne’s CBD, therefore possess a certain degree of inauthenticity. Their cultural displacement and the way I choose to illustrate them are analogous to my own ambiguous cultural identity.

Ruby Li, Untitled #1, oil on canvas, 2020
Ruby Li, Untitled #1, oil on canvas, 2020
Ruby Li, Untitled #2, oil on canvas, 2020
Ruby Li, Untitled #2, oil on canvas, 2020
Ruby Li, Untitled #3, oil on canvas, 2020
Ruby Li, Untitled #3, oil on canvas, 2020
Ruby Li, installation view, 2020. Documentation by Christo Crocker, Eliza Dyball and Aaron Rees.
Ruby Li, installation view, 2020. Documentation by Christo Crocker, Eliza Dyball and Aaron Rees.
Ruby Li, Fishn't, oil on canvas, 2020
Ruby Li, Fishn't, oil on canvas, 2020
Ruby Li, 红/鸿, oil on board, 2019
Ruby Li, 红/鸿, oil on board, 2019
Ruby Li, Blue Swan Goose, oil on board, 2019
Ruby Li, Blue Swan Goose, oil on board, 2019
Ruby Li, Untitled, oil on canvas, 2020
Ruby Li, Untitled, oil on canvas, 2020
Ruby Li, Untitled, oil on canvas, 2020
Ruby Li, Untitled, oil on canvas, 2020
Ruby Li, Untitled, pen on paper, 2020
Ruby Li, Untitled, pen on paper, 2020

We acknowledge and pay respect to the Traditional Owners of the lands upon which our campus is situated, the people of the Boon Wurrung and Woi Wurrung, who have created art, made music and told their stories here for thousands of generations. We also acknowledge and extend our respect to the Traditional Owners of all lands on which our work is viewed, shared and enjoyed, and to all Elders, past, present and emerging.

This website may contain sensitive or triggering content