Alter Charme - Neues Gewand | Ming Lu

About

Ming Lu’s works include photography, installation, performance, and more traditional media – porcelain and embroidery. 

Lu’s practice throws Chinese tradition into the present and reinvigorates handicrafts for the contemporary audience. Her work is humorous and playful while confronting deep and challenging ideas around the perceptions of China and the female experience.

While studying at the Royal College of Art, England, she noticed racks of pecking ducks hanging in the windows of restaurants in London’s Chinatown. A phenomenon that occurs not in China but a constructed view of the East.
Out of this came Lu’s series of porcelain ducks, delicately painted with blue glaze in intricate floral patterns, with calligraphy or a unique cracking finish. Learning from master craftspeople and working with artisans to create this series, Lu reacted against the modern idea of Made-in-China being synonymous with mass production. Instead, she sought out individuals that used traditional techniques and opted for a process that is known for being slow, inaccurate, and labour intensive.

Another area of interest for Lu is femininity. Using methods often associated with ‘women’s work’ such as needlework, embroidery and textiles, Lu and a team recreate female characters from historical Chinese myths, sculptural plushies and two-headed deities. One work in her Tigress series takes its starting point from a 1980’s marriage bedsheet found at a market. The once sacred and treasured material is then used to create a tigress soft toy with an exaggerated body and a face that is both menacing and absurd.

Throughout her work, Lu reflects on her cultural identity, which combines enduring attachments to China, the country of her birth, and to Europe, where she studied art. (text by Anna Ratcliffe)