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Where's the frame

November 3, 2021 8:48 AM

GMT

Like nothing else in the universe, Chinese artist Li Hei Di expresses the often repressed senses of raw human desires in her pieces. Li Hei Di translated the everpresent longings and attempts to understand the most primal human desire and emotions, into elusive marks that transform between abstraction and figuration. Here are 5 questions.

Which of your pieces is your personal favourite, and you feel like it is like nothing else in your universe? Share your thoughts and stories behind it!


Rubia Cordifolia summer is my favorite one. I ordered Rubia Cordifolia pigment  from the internet and grinder it into paint. When I brushed it onto the painting, it appeared to be an oxidized red colour, then later it slowly turned pink-ish. The process was exciting and experimental, but I like how  it turned out in the end. I used negative space to contour the torsos of two figures, having their bodies almost pressed against each other, like two primitive lovers intimately greeting each other naked in a magic garden.

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Li Hei Di in her studio



Let’s play a game. Would you rather have unlimited time or unlimited money? 


Of course I would rather have unlimited time. Because if I had unlimited time, I would eventually figure out how to make money. If I had unlimited time I could finally really enjoy a cup of tea. Freshly made tea is always too hot, I always feel pressured to do some chores while waiting for the tea to cool. But I always end up forgetting about the tea, when I come to it again it's already cold and bitter. Then I feel pressured to drink up the cold liquid so I don't waste a teabag. If I had unlimited time, I would just sit still, and watch the tea cool slowly.




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Li Hei Di's studio




How as an artist you keep being inspired during the pandemic? 


During the pandemic, with little exterior stimulation, I learned to look within, to make peace with myself and my journey. It felt like a revelation to me, in life and in art. I no longer expect or pressure myself to make what I think is right,  I just make, like running naked into an open field.





What is the one thing in your studio you can’t live without? 


I have been obessed with the Chinese actress Zhou Xun 周迅,I love her character in the movie Suzhou River (2000). I have a picture of her sticked onto my window, so I feel that she is giving me power when "arting" is hard.




What feeling, for you, is like nothing else in the universe?

Winning the board game of Catan



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Li Hei Di in her studio

Li_Hei_Di_Studio





You can collect the pieces she's created for LIKE NOTHING ELSE IN THE UNIVERSE here.



Follow Artist on her instagram and website.

Artwork photographs courtesy of the artist. Portraits taken by Alina zum Hebel (website/ instagram). Photography courtesy of where’s the frame? and Alina zum Hebel.




where’s the frame? - ‘LIKE NOTHING ELSE IN THE UNIVERSE’ is a collection of 6 up and coming international artists. The collection is available from October 14, 2021 until January 14, 2022. 

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