Lin Fanglu
Lin Fanglu has completed her Master and Bachelor's degree in Product Design at the Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA) in 2016 and 2012. During her undergraduate studies, she had the privilege to enter No. 9 Design Studio of CAFA and work under the supervision of Prof. Jiang Li. In 2011 she has participated in the exchange program at Karlsruhe University of Art and Design in Karlsruhe, Germany, and Tokyo University of the Arts in Japan.
Upon her come back to China, Lin Fanglu decided to experience first-hand the traditions and folkways of Chinese ethnic minorities and research in-depth the disappearing techniques of tie-dyeing from the Bai women community in Yunnan.
Numerous visits to the village led to the creation of the new indigo series that participated in several exhibitions, including at the Art Museum of the Central Academy of Fine Art and the Beijing Exhibition Center. Her work"Iron Drum Sofa" has been collected by London Zero-Carbon Pavilion during the Shanghai World Expo in 2010. She was also awarded "Young Designer of the Year" and"Innovative Brand of the Year" at the China Architecture Decoration Association in 2016. In 2019, she participated in the First Biennale of Natural Dyes at China National Silk Museum and was selected as one of the 30 finalists of LOEWE Art & Craft Price. In 2020, her work"She's Stone" was exhibited in Centre Pompidou, West Bund Museum. Most recently, Lin Fanglu won the LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize of 2021.
In her works, Lin Fanglu looks at the traditional handicraft from the perspective of a contemporary artist. She went to Zhou Cheng village of Dali city in Yunnan province, China to explore artisanship of the tie-dye techniques kept and carried on by the women of the local Bai ethnic minority group. Spending time with the locals, observing their life, and absorbing the traditions, not only she learned the techniques of tie-dying but also the ones of embroidery. From then, she went on experimenting and implementing traditional craft techniques in the creation of her art.
