10 Questions with Aodan
As an artist working mainly with porcelain and embroidery, Aodan strives to explore, redefine and externalize femininity and “femaleness”. With highly detailed and intricate techniques, she endeavors to show the complicated tableaux with aggressiveness, gentleness, fragility, softness, toughness, struggles, emotions, and pain within femininity and female gender in delicate and cryptic looks. Aodan stays loyal to the creed that art should be an organic combination abundant with personal metaphors and symbols; art is about the experience rather than conversation. If there is a story with an open ending, art should be open to interpretations and feelings. Aodan was born in 1993, Hohhot, China. She Moved to USA in 2012 and actually based in Chicago.
Hurting Spring #1, Aodan©
INTERVIEW
Before talking about your art, could you tell us about yourself? Who is Aodan?
I use three words to describe myself: an escapist, a tear catcher, and a black hole. I guess I'm more inclined to call myself an 'art Sharman.'
What kind of education or training helped you develop your skillset?
I taught myself embroidery since I was a kid, or it was like an innate skill. I started even without knowing what I was doing. It probably runs in my family: my grandma was a talented embroiderer, but I barely spent time with her. After she passed away, I got all her embroidery threads, thinking I might be the last one in our family doing embroidery.
I'm also quite thankful that I got my art education in a liberal art college while many people were questioning it. However, I consider the whole spectrum of knowledge as equal to professional skills. Even the physics class I took became part of my inspirations.
I grew up under my father's expectation to be an oil painter, but I didn't have a painting talent. I'm so grateful that one of my college professors, Nanette Yannuzzi, saved me from my struggle and freed me from my own heart by showing me a whole new realm of possibilities so that I wouldn't trap myself in just one form of art.
Please describe the intention behind your art. How do you successfully express this intention?
All my works are about femininity and femaleness. Creating arts under this theme is like part of my instinct as I constantly 'feel' my own identity, so I think I was following my instinct without hesitation.
Can you tell our readers what experience of your life is reflected in your works of art?
Some of my friends' joke that I must be an embroiderer or some artisan in my' previous life'. All the techniques are considered as part of 'a lady's quality', but I have been increasingly getting tired of living under an expectancy of 'a lady'. I want to show the complicated tableaux of females and femaleness free of any limits from a patriarchal culture.
Life and Death in Far North #4, Aodan©
Eternity, Aodan©
Do you have a role model that you've drawn inspiration from when creating your art?
Even though I work a lot with arts, I feel constantly inspired by Oscar Wilde's works. His Salome opens the door of exploring femaleness and femininity for me. I still feel thrilled, no matter how many times I have read the great piece.
You work mainly with porcelain, embroidery, and photography. Can you tell us about the process of creating your work?
I somehow consider my art a 'formless performance,' and I call it 'free interpretation symbolism'. The whole process is all about materiality and catharsis of emotions and feelings as I enjoy the duality: the violent & gentle quality of embroidery and the toughness & fragility of porcelain.
Hurting Spring #6 Aodan©
What was the most challenging part of your project?
I think fulfilling my own expectation is always the hardest part. Even though I was always taught that an artist could never 100% fulfill what is in their mind, the pressure is real.
I also try very hard not to let my inspirations run dry. Luckily seeing a lot of amazing arts and reading can really help!
Can you explain the role of an artist in society? And how do you accomplish yours?
To be honest, I don't even think that an artist has to play a role in society. Art is our last resort to ourselves free of judgment; it could be comforting and disturbing at the same time. All we have to do is to defend that last resort.
Life and Death in Far North #1 Aodan©
What do you hope that the public takes away from your work?
I stay loyal to the creed that art should be an organic combination abundant with personal metaphors and symbols; art is about the experience rather than conversation. If there is a story with an open ending, art should be totally open to interpretations and feelings. Therefore, the only thing I expect from my audience is their own interpretations. There is no right or wrong.
What are you working on now? Anything exciting you can tell us about?
I've been doing embroidery and making porcelain all along, but now I'm considering the possibility of combining these two! I'm working on a series of cult objects & BDSM objects.
