Ma Le Thi Analysis
Ma Le Thi
Artist
* Born in Buon Ma Thou, Vietnam in 1964 * She is of Chinese heritage, making her subject to racism and alienated within her own country * Currently lives and works in Sydney
Material Practice * Thi’s works embrace a diversity of media and forms varying from painting, sculpture, performance, installation, film making and set design
Conceptual Practice * Recurrent Imagery provides an ongoing dialogue and connection with the audience and her art making practice * Often uses symbolic representations within her work, predominantly of skeletons, skin colours, ladders, shoes, rice and masks * In contrast to western vanitas, Thi uses the skull as a symbol of unity and as a common link between cultures
and people * Uses the four colours of red, white, yellow and black to represent the different skin colours of the world, addressing her opinions about racism and discrimination * “Art is about life rather than the look of the piece.” – Ma Le Thi 2006
By including reoccurring motifs and imagery within her works, she forms a continual connection between artist and audience.
Audience
* “My Le Thi is a Vietnamese-Australian installation artist who has exhibited internationally. Her work challenges the notion of ethnicity and its complex language from which distinct characteristics and practices are questioned in a push towards building common links and global communities. The use of skeletal structures, feet and other forms are definitive examples.” - Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre and The Blacktown Arts Centre * Thi’s primal audience is the Australian community and she has exhibited in Sydney galleries, including collaboration exhibitions such as ‘Parallel Worlds’ with Tim Johnson at the UTS sydney
World
* Thi’s works are based on her experiences within her homeland, the highlands of Vietnam. * However, as a Sydney based artist she is able to blend Western and Asian culture. Her works are also a response to her negative experience of the war in Vietnam where the bombing came close to her home. * Her personal interest is in supporting minorities and the minority groups from her home country that are collectively referred to as the Montagnards. * One of these monorities is the Ede tribe, which possesses a strong culture based on matriarchal lineage While, she herself is not one of them, she has maintained an interest to their art and culture.
Artist
* Born in Buon Ma Thou, Vietnam in 1964 * She is of Chinese heritage, making her subject to racism and alienated within her own country * Currently lives and works in Sydney
Material Practice * Thi’s works embrace a diversity of media and forms varying from painting, sculpture, performance, installation, film making and set design
Conceptual Practice * Recurrent Imagery provides an ongoing dialogue and connection with the audience and her art making practice * Often uses symbolic representations within her work, predominantly of skeletons, skin colours, ladders, shoes, rice and masks * In contrast to western vanitas, Thi uses the skull as a symbol of unity and as a common link between cultures
and people * Uses the four colours of red, white, yellow and black to represent the different skin colours of the world, addressing her opinions about racism and discrimination * “Art is about life rather than the look of the piece.” – Ma Le Thi 2006
By including reoccurring motifs and imagery within her works, she forms a continual connection between artist and audience.
Audience
* “My Le Thi is a Vietnamese-Australian installation artist who has exhibited internationally. Her work challenges the notion of ethnicity and its complex language from which distinct characteristics and practices are questioned in a push towards building common links and global communities. The use of skeletal structures, feet and other forms are definitive examples.” - Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre and The Blacktown Arts Centre * Thi’s primal audience is the Australian community and she has exhibited in Sydney galleries, including collaboration exhibitions such as ‘Parallel Worlds’ with Tim Johnson at the UTS sydney
World
* Thi’s works are based on her experiences within her homeland, the highlands of Vietnam. * However, as a Sydney based artist she is able to blend Western and Asian culture. Her works are also a response to her negative experience of the war in Vietnam where the bombing came close to her home. * Her personal interest is in supporting minorities and the minority groups from her home country that are collectively referred to as the Montagnards. * One of these monorities is the Ede tribe, which possesses a strong culture based on matriarchal lineage While, she herself is not one of them, she has maintained an interest to their art and culture.