ARTS
"Memories of Hong Kong: A Collection" by Erika Chang
Painted Heart 画心 by Yin Lu
About Yin Lu:
Yin Lu is a Brisbane-based Chinese Australian visual artist, muralist, and art teacher based in Brisbane, Australia, whose artistic practice is hugely influenced by her Chinese heritage. Working across a range of two-dimensional media, from drawing, painting, muralism, and mixed media, she uses her bold and contrasting style to amplify her cultural identity. Her interpretations of multiculturalism through combinations of Western art and Eastern aesthetics play a pivotal role in inspiring her art.
About her artwork:
These are the windows to my childhood. Red is the influential colour of this work due to the paper-cut art. Peering through these windows, viewers are not only able to see my past but also the history of my nation. Making this piece is like decorating my window back in China. I am reconnected with my dear family who I used to live with. The above window commemorates them with their zodiac animals. Our zodiac signs include rat, pig, snake, and monkey. Also seen are other iconic Guangzhou symbols: Cantonese opera, Stone Statue of Five Rams, and the thrushes. While the above is my window in Guangzhou, below is my window in the Hunan Province—my mother’s hometown. Here is my brother represented by his tiger zodiac. The other images are the Red-Billed Acacia; the mythic dragon and phoenix; the children that advocates the habit of reading; Mr. Mao, Hunan’s prominent leader, and pride; Lei Feng, embodying love, kindness, and positivity; and the flag of the Communist Party of China. All of these are painted as paper-cuts to express the artform’s purpose of being hung on a window. In the heart of each window are the hands of Buddha. Buddha’s hand above is offering Guangzhou’s Flower Kapok and his hand below offers Hunan’s chili. Both plants are believed to bring comfort, happiness, and good luck. These windows also represent the combination of Eastern and Western civilisations, back to the time when the Guangzhou Manchurian windows adapted the Western stained-glass technique. This historic merge shows that there’s harmony in unity. The title borrows the concept of “painting heart” seen in calligraphies used in window sash designs.