Protruding Patterns by Lin Tianmiao (林天苗). 2017. Installation view at Galerie Lelong & Co., New York.
Lin Tian Miao (林天苗) is one of the first Chinese contemporary artists who rose to international prominence in the late 20th century. Although her practice frequently foregrounds female experience and identity, Lin eschews the label of “feminist artist”, as she believes the concept of feminism implies a Western context, which she does not fully associate herself with.
Over the past six years, Lin has collected around 2,000 words and expressions about women in various languages. Pulling from popular novels, newspapers, the internet, and colloquial dialogues, she has gathered phrases such as “divinité,” “Mori girl,” and “leftover women.” Some are predictably derogatory to women, demonstrating the continued ubiquity of sexist attitudes reinforced by language, while others are directly recovered from obsolescence, representing the nuanced mix of confusion, humor, self-deprecation, and empowerment that accompanies the shifting consciousness of women. This lexicon is woven into thickly raised wool forms so that viewers can feel the visceral and literal protruding patterns while touching and walking on the carpets.
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