EMITA
LIN
林之语
As the title of exhibition is a word I describe myself with, all artworks in this
exhibition are all about one theme: self-expression. They are all focused
either on me emotions, my thoughts, my identity, or other aspects of me. The
artworks are created in a wide array of time, when I am using art as a form
to record and preserve my feelings; it’s art that transcend ephemerality into
immortality. The message behind each artwork differs significantly, which are
quite self-explanatory from the title and artist statement.
BIRTH OF
A PESSIMIST
150CMX70CM
CERAMIC ART
MEDIUM CLAY, PLASTIC, ACRYLIC
The pinkish, cancerous tissue in the artwork represents pessimism. The arrangement of those four heads from left to right
demonstrates the development of the symptom. Pessimism is like a plague; its spore spreads from a host to another host. This is my
realization after being damaged as a result of a negative friendship. People have the tendency to think in a pessimistic way because
it is the easiest and the least tiring. Once you are infected with even the slightest degree of pessimism, pretty soon you will become a
pessimist. Beware!
MOOD
BOARD
200CMX170CM
MIXED MEDIA
MEDIUM MIXED MEDIA
From left to right, the small pieces of “mood board” in
Row 1 are named as Dopamine, Estrogen; those in
Row 2 are named as Noradrenaline, Hypocretin,
Serotonin; and the one in Row 3 is named as
Oxytocin. Those are all the names of hormones and
neurotransmitters that are active in my body during
the time I created this piece; each responsible for
some emotions. Learning about hormone and
neurotransmitters in Psychology strangely makes me
question about free will. Are my emotions reflections
of my thought and mind or just because of change in
my brain chemical activities? I don’t know. Many
unprecedented emotions are clashing in my mind
while the hormones and neurotransmitters are rushing
in my blood vessel and brain, which make me more
baffled. So here I am, stressed, anxious, excited,
deprived of sleep, longing for friendship and love.
SICK LOVE
3215X2685PX
PAINTING
MEDIUM DIGITAL
For four months, I lived in a place where my bedroom
can be seen through the window if someone is
standing on the balcony. It makes me feel very bizarre
thinking about this, almost making me feel being
monitored for all of the time, in particular by my
parents. I am sensitive to this because I am afraid that
they will find out what I’ve been hiding from them, my
habits that they won’t approve. The threat of loss of
privacy gives me illusion that a monster is crawling on
my window, creeping through it.
FEASTING
ON
THE
FLOWERS
3034X2480PX
PAINTING
MEDIUM DIGITAL
I heard that butterflies will rest on
corpses, using their mouthpart to siphon
off nutritious juice. Captivated by the
intertwining imageries of death, decay of
the corpse and liveness, exquisiteness
of butteries, I began to imagine the
decay of myself. Death is equal for
everyone. Even the most powerful ones
will become nutrition for butterflies and
flies.
When I die, will there be butterflies
kissing me?
WHERE
IS
MY
MIND
2262X3200PX MEDIUM DIGITAL
PAINTING
A sudden surge of anger is running in my mind.
It elicits my primitive, animalistic natures. I
want to shout, to scream, to bite, to hurt others.
It almost makes me lose all my reason and
temper. But I didn’t. Instead, I use my
paintbrush to get the anger off my chest, letting
the naked half-beast girl in this drawing sitting
among the skeleton of her preys to unleash the
rage for me. I want the audience to feel the
anxiety and resonate with me through the use
of color and aggressive posture of the girl.
BLUE & LONESOME
180X120CM
PAINTING
MEDIUM ACRYLIC ON CANVAS
Blue and Lonesome is a portrait of my daily life in
second semester of 11th grade. Back then I was
stressed by academic pressure and confusion about
my future. When I was exhausted writing my
homework, I always bent over on the table like this.
Other subjects in this painting, such as sticky-notes
with reminders on them, coffee cup, scattered math
homework on the table, are all what my dorm room
looked like during that time. This is a montage of my
life. Every day is just another repetition of another
with same boredom. When would life like this end? I
had no idea at that time.
UNTITLED
4000X4000PX
PAINTING
MEDIUM DIGITAL
When I am anxious, I lose all my appetite.
I can’t stand the oily smell of food. Even
after eating, I feel disgust and want to
vomit. I have to try my best to suppress
that disgust or I will vomit for real. In this
work, I am trying to substitute my desire of
vomiting in real life with my desire to
express it in the form of art. Confronting
and exposing my bizarre physiological
react ion gives me determination to end it.
I am deliberately using bright color s to
create a psychedelic aura to stimulate and
shock the audience.
AFTER THE DRUMBEAT
WE CALL THAT DANCING HEART IN THE DARK AS THE MOON
2388X1770PX
PAINTING
MEDIUM DIGITAL
The title of this work is a poem by Haizi’s on cultural identity and selfexpression,
which the artwork is inspired by. Just like Haizi, I also have
confusion about my identity and questions such as “Who I am”, and “Where I
come from”.
Upon my journey of seeking for the answers to those questions, I encountered
art. It is when I realize that the power of art which can expose my unconscious
thoughts and emotions, help me better understand myself. The meaning of my
being is further established through art. Echoing with the quote in the title, my
brush, or whatever I paint with, is not just a tool I use. It’s a scalpel with which I
dissect the shell of my body, to see and show my heart and soul, beating and
frantic.
DAYDREAM
BELIEVER
This is perhaps the most cheerful piece in the entire exhibition. Your
journey with my exhibition starts with a pessimistic piece, but I want to
end with a more optimistic one.
2480X3508PX
PAINTING
MEDIUM DIGITAL
Although I may be in some strong negative emotions while painting, I
feel they are detached from me when I finish. They are more like
sealed in those canvases or psd files, waiting for me to reveal them
after a period of time. This may be a cliché but the message behind
this work can be: although there may be many negativities in life,
don’t forget to look up in the sky.