Qiuhong Yu
Integrated Cultural Self-portrait in Tile
Prompt: Each student was asked to decorate a 24'' x 24'' plywood tile and construct a window, a door, a shelf, a drawer and a pocket attached to the tile. Each wood tile should reveal the artist's identity or cultural background and then all tiles were connected to form a collaborative sculpture.
My home in China is a house with a calming blue-tiled koi pond at the bottom of a hill. The neighborhood is enclosed by greenery and usually, only the sound of cicadas and people practicing the piano can be heard. When I moved to Syracuse, NY for high school, the tan-colored house of my host family was also surrounded by grass, trees and a big pool on the back. I enjoyed spending time out on the lawn and feeling the summer breeze. It’s not until I moved into the concrete jungle that I realize how much I miss nature. Therefore, I created small environments with the intention of mimicking the natural world and escaping from the crowded atmosphere that I live in now.