Lin Tianmiao. This artist is one I love deeply. While studying, I took inspiration for my art from fashion. Fashion is how I discovered Tianmiao's work. Her installation and performance Here? or There? took a directive from 90s avant-garde fashion designers like Yohji Yamamoto and Rei Kawakubo that made me love her work instantly. Diving deeper, I discovered the world she creates in her installations. Taking objects of home and work and the body and life and spinning them into a web of a world of opposites. <3
Artist and Textile Designer
Born 1961, Taiyuan Shanxi Province, China.
One of few artists born in the 60s from Mainland China.
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Her Work: Explores the body and its functions
Installation, Sculpture, Photography, Paper, Video
Emphasis: Textiles (thread, silk, felt)
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Interested in BINARIES & CONTRAST
the shift of one aspect to the other.
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B I G & SMALL
GATHERING & S C A T T E R I N G
AGGRESSION & WITHDRAWAL
HARSHNESS & TENDERNESS
PROLIFERATION & REDUCTION
MALE&FEMALE
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"Two Materials form a Stark Contrast, in terms of composition, gender-implication and function: there is a big distance between them. When I put them together, I think I created a rather eccentric effect. During the exhibition, the cream released a strong fragrance, filling up the entire space. The piece appeared to be very still, but it was actually full of power. The boxes were meant to contain the cream, and the cream was meant to be contained. But when they were hung on the walls, their relationship changed. The cream’s fragrance became stronger, and it took a more dominant position in your mind." LT
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MALE&FEMALE
SUBDUED & DOMINANT
CONTAINED & RELEASED
STRONG & TENDER
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The Temptation of Saint Teresa, 1994, wooden boxes, pink and white face cream, Lin Tianmiao
Inspired by childhood of sewing and chores with her mother. She rediscovered these materials on her move from the US back to China. She moved back to a post-Tiananmen Square protest China.
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Oversized paper pants hanging, needles gathered in place of a body, scattered thread balls, tv monitor inside pillow case.
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Explores problems of cultural understanding in migration, self-identity, and political reality
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B I G & SMALL
GATHERING & S C A T T E R I N G
AGGRESSION & WITHDRAWAL
HARSHNESS & TENDERNESS
PROLIFERATION & REDUCTION
MALE&FEMALE
The Proliferation of Thread Winding, 1995, thread, needles, tv, Lin Tianmiao
Here? or There?, 2002, Lin Tianmiao
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Collaboration with her husband, Wang Gongxin. The piece is comprised of a collection of sculptural dresses in muted palettes made by Lin, and films by Wang featuring models performing—wearing the dresses—in front of destroyed and abandoned traditional Chinese landscapes. Flip day-to-day habitual elements of life
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INSIDE & OUTSIDE
REALITY & FICTION
SKIN & ORGANS
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No. 1
W A L L H A N G I N G
No. 2
B I G E G G S
No. 3
C L O T H E S R A C K
No. 4
M I R R O R
No. 5
S T A N D
No. 6
C U R B
No. 7
B R O K E N
No. 8
B O T T L E S
No. 9
T W O W O M E N
No. 10
B A G
No. 11
E G G S
No. 12
S I T
No. 13
T R E E
No. 14
R I S I N G
No. 15
B I F I D
No. 16
D O G
"I have often thought: can traditional arts really meet the need of self-expression in the contemporary world?
I doubt it."
Links to get lost in:
Galerie Lelong & Co - Bio, Exhibitions, Photos of work
lintianmiao.com has all photos of Lin's work
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