High Life

HIGH LIFE #15 Dec 2017 37 “I did it as a hobby but my art was noticed once I posted it online. The clip has since been watched by millions of people all over the world and has been covered by international media. That’s how my career in art came about.” Red says that living in Shanghai also gave her opportunities to try different materials because of the range of items that are sold in bulk at a cheap price. “I realized I could buy 20,000 blue cups and have them delivered to my house in two hours. It was culturally very different,” she recalls. “Because I could afford to buy my materials, I could make my art. And that’s how my fascination with ordinary materials came about. I took the challenge to do things a bit differently.” Despite her obvious talent, Red never dreamed ofworking as a fulltime artist until her boss encouraged her to try, promising that her job would still be waiting for her in six months’ time if it didn’t work out. “And it worked out for me,” she smiles. “I was lucky.” A wave of innovative artworks ensued, including a portrait of Chinese contemporary artist Ai Weiwei made entirely from sunflower seeds, a portrait of Adele using 1,500 melted tea lights and one of Aung San Suu Kyi with dyed carnations. Red’s incredible imagination has quickly led to her receiving orders from clients all over the world, including the Mandarin Oriental Macau. “Three months ago I was invited by The New York Times to give a talk about my art in Hong Kong, where I encountered the General Manager of Mandarin Oriental,” she explains. “Later they came to me with the idea of doing something with Lotus. So I did my research and then came up with this art piece.