The Impression Series by @lulumeng

I recently went to an art exhibition opening of @lulumeng, and wanted to share her work as I think it is very cool. She has been pretty busy keeping up with life and setting up exhibitions for her cool stuff, but I'd like to encourage her to come back. I'm also hoping that perhaps others who are interested in her work might encourage her to hop back in and share more of her stuff here on Steemit as well.

All liquid payouts will go to her.

I've written a post once before with her art from the same series here, which you can also take a look.

The photos I've taken are from her latest showing at this exhibition. A bunch of us went to visit on opening night, and it was quite crowded.

There are three hanging pieces, each with its own name:

• Chess : 16 = 十六
• Timestable : 16, 18, 21, 30 then 40
• The cricked spine: Vertebrate

The name is clearer when you see both sides of each hanging piece.

The other side is flat but engraved with what I'm assuming is an impression of the artist's identity. In the last picture you can make out a multiplication table as you zoom in. From the title of work, it does look like only a few of them are filled out, and I'm guessing at certain age milestones.

The other side of Timestable. It's so fun to see the details of the shirt, and the wrinkles...

Here I got a close-up of one of the buttons. Those look so real... I didn't touch it to check though (and probably that would be frowned upon). I will ask by the end of this post.

This is from the one in the corner. Most likely you'll recognize the chess pieces in the top half. The bottom half are also chess pieces, but from Chinese chess. These pieces are mostly resin, and the flat side is carved with a drill bit. She mentioned that it was rather difficult to make straight lines and circles. Impressive.

I can only assume this is about a clash between American and Taiwanese identity. I find it interesting that half the pieces live in the spaces while the other half live on the interesting lines. Maybe they aren't in conflict after all. The title of the piece mentions some sort of equality as well, so maybe that matches.

And this is the other side of Chess.

This one is Vertebrate. I really like the shapes of this one. Embedded within is a fuzzy impression of the American flag, male and female symbols, Brooklyn, the Chinese character for dog, and the Chinese character of her surname, Meng.

And here's @lulumeng alongside her Impression series art pieces.

I did ask more about the artwork, and it turns out that the buttons are real, and it is different than her previous work. This is what she says about it:

I hardened and used real clothes as a container to pull resin in. The features of the front side are erased, as if we are anonymous in a society at large. Symbols and carving on the flat side are collective experience. Some from my own stories some from other friends or people I encountered. Experience and stories were combined to create a fictional character. It’s like who we are now is shaped by collective effort of the surrounding people and environment.

What a very interesting concept. Come to think of it, the Timestable is a universal experience shared by almost all humans growing up. My favorite of the three pieces is the one with the chess pieces. Growing up I did learn and play both (but not well), and seeing them side by side in this arrangement really brings together many memories.

If by some chance you are in New York City in that particular area you can also take a peek in person. The exhibition runs for about 4 weeks.

Also check out her website at http://www.lulumeng.art/ and her Instagram.