This artwork is part of a continued examination of movement as it relates to time, experience, and the body. This theme, which I have explored since 2006, is further informed by having lived and worked in multiple cities around the world including Shanghai, China. For a decade I was immersed in the deconstruction and reconstruction of China's largest city. This rapid transformation of the urban landscape created a feeling of living in time-lapse. Physical markers, such as old buildings, markets and neighborhoods, those things that helped us orientate ourselves in place and time, were reduced to rubble. Then, nearly instantly, they were replaced by large towers of concrete, glass, and metal. I often wondered the psychological effect that this experience had on local Shanghainese and long-term inhabitants of the city.
Ye Lu (a.k.a. Lu Lu Galore), a Shanghai native and a burlesque performer, personified the sensuality and provocativeness of the city. She was part of this new transformation of the city—where foreign influence, money and debauchery became synonymous with its name—much like it was in the 1920’s. In this image, Portrait of Ye Lu (IV), the model and visual elements are metonymic representations of Shanghai. The blacks and reds are dominant in the artwork, as they are on the city’s streets. They are colors that are provocative and sensual. Red is the color of extremes; it's the color of seduction and aggression. It also holds special significance in the Chinese culture of being lucky and symbolizing vitality. The lure of the city, for many of us, was offset by anxiety and uncertainty resulting from rapid redevelopment. The blurring and distortion of the face depict the emotional affect of being caught up in the city’s wake.