Niki Li
SILKSCREEN PRINTS
What You See Is Not What You See
In this digital age, people are used to learning about each other based on their social media profiles. Vegan, hipster, party animal or hermit...we put labels on others subconsciously by looking through their social media pages. However, can we really trust the authenticity of those beautiful pictures when everything could have been photoshoped? Are we still living in a time when 'seeing is believing?' Maybe what you see is not what you see.
'Beautiful Junk'
Is it 'so easy' to make art in our post-multicultural era? Why could a piece of blank canvas be hung in MOMA? Do those people lounging around in museums really understand the conceptual ideas behind the artwork? Should fine arts incorporate more accessibility to the public? To create an open dialogue on these questions, I made this 'beautiful junk'. The black characters ‘垃圾’ in the center mean ‘Junk’ in Chinese.
“操”
The overall graphics of this screen print mimic the brushstrokes of the Chinese character '操', which means 'FUCK'. The burger and donuts symbolize the critique on capitalism and consumerism; The dollar sign placed on the woman figure's vagina creates a conversation on the objectification and fetish of Asian women, Asian women stereotypes, and also on the relationship between money and love.
Knock-off logo poster campaign
Simply being funny or a serious question mark on today's consumer-driven materialistic society? This series of posters invite different interpretations.
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PUBLIC GRAPHIC ARTS PROJECTS
Only One Left Napkin Public Art
Location: Boston MBTA Restroom at Park Street
Audience: MBTA Commuters
During a two week period, all the napkins in the dispensers will be taken out and replaced by a customized napkin roll with only one napkin left. Users of the restroom will be irritated by the lack of napkin and the insulting messages on it. This piece points to the importance of reducing hand napkin waste.
Printed Napkin Public Art
Location: Tufts Dining Hall
Audience: Tufts students and faculty
Based on my observation of large amounts of napkins being wasted in the tufts dining hall, I hope that printing cautionary messages on napkins will bring awareness to the importance of reducing napkin related waste.
Ignorance Party
Treated more as an aesthetic, instead of a language, Chinese characters have made an impact on visual cultures of the West. Many fast fashion brands capitalize on the beauty of the Chinese symbols and slap them on garments simply because they "look cool". Westerners like to buy these products without actually knowing the cultural context they carry, and sometimes even the actual meaning of the words. Playing with this mentality, I designed these patches with ironic metaphors. People will be encouraged to apply these patches to their garments.
This art project creates an open dialogue on how cultural disparity and people’s feeble attempts to understand different cultural heritages can promote ignorance, rather than transparency, respect and clarity.
This project won The First Prize of The Cathryn Griffith Award in the Graphic Arts Annual, 2017
“我很行”－I can/I am super strong in bed.
“我不行”－I can't/I have erectile dysfunction.
"我妈妈不喜欢你“－My mama don't like you.
“宅男”－Otaku/Hermit
"我被甩了”－I got dumped
Physical Patches and shirts
