Yushi Cheng

Serious Softies

Img 0116 24
Chubby Bunny.

My work explores the parameters of making art in the multicultural, globalised, consumer-driven world of today. At the same time, it is a resolution of my own cultural identity, or loss of identity. Using commodity objects as a medium, the project examines the mass culture ideologies in society today. Living in the generation that celebrates the global mass market, and as an Asian artist working in a western setting, I am influenced by my exposure to the international media culture, as well as to the deep-rooted visceral traditional heritage, and my confusion with a sense of cultural belonging. Therefore, this project sets out to explore personal identity in a state of globalisation, through the medium of soft, stuffed objects, with a humorous, light-hearted undertone.

Symbolism and Character Merchandising



My work is a re-adaptation of traditional symbolism (including Buddhism) into a new framework of mass media and consumption, investigating these moments of hybridity. In making my work, I was drawn to the crossover of media culture and consumer products. I use the same methods of content creation used by mass-media sensations, and the fan-based, obsessive repetition and accumulation of images that is often linked to popular media reproduction. Utilising Marc Steinberg’s concepts of mediamix and character merchandising, I try to unload these historical icons of their complexity and reinterpret them as idol-like figures, as brands of mass-media culture, and just another commercial product. I used his principles of the multi-existence of the iconic character across different platforms to create objects that take a position between art and design, adaptive to diverse platforms.

Emma 0115 23
Lucky Bear.
Emma 0142 12
Praying Bead Victory Blanket, Screenprinted on Fabric.
Emma 0077 12
Emma 0144 14
Rocking Lotus Blanket, Screenprinted on Fabric.
Emma 0073 9
Emma 0079 14
Chubby Bunny Blanket, Screenprinted on Fabric.
Emma 0139 9

Design and Art



Responding to the concept of “Critical Design” created by Anthony Dunne, the objects occupy an in-between state of art and product, investigating the critical possibilities of design and non-critical possibilities of art.  I aim for the objects to be familiar enough to look as if they could be commoditised, and exist in a toy store, but with a twist of iconography that does not belong to the same world, thus defamiliarising them in an uncanny way.

This juxtaposition of seriousness and light-heartedness, the new media culture under globalisation, and the dialogue between the traditional and the mass-produced visual language, are the concepts at the core of this body of work.

 
Emma 0136 6 Copy
Bow ties and eye masks. From left to right: Peach, Lotus and Hands.
Emma 0136 6 Copyaa
Peach Bow Tie.
Emma 0136 6 Copya
Left: Lotus Dress. Right: Lovely Peaches Tank Top.
Emma 0085 16
Rocking Zen Hand Accessories.
Emma 0087 17
The Carp.
Emma 0136 6 Copy1
Floor Cushions. From left to right: Poached Lotus I, Year Year Have Fish, Poached Lotus II.
Modify Curves Layer
S Modify Curves Layer
Publication to accompany display.
Huaban 1
Website to accompany display. URL: http://serioussofties.tumblr.com/

Related Artists