Tell Me You Love Me: Self-embrace in Female Creation

Text by Wei Yin-Hue, Independent Curator

Through Tell Me You Love Me, me signifies the 2 selves of the same individual: the inner and the exterior, in contrast of the Other. In Lai Mei-hua’s work, one can catch a glimpse of the process in which a female artist eventually embraces herself.

Applying existentialism on her life experience as a woman, philosopher and feminist Simone de Beauvoir once said: “One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman.” The artist Lai Mei-hua has stated: “I demonstrate the time I live in via my works of creation—on women’s circumstances/situations in a female perspective, that is the external and internal space in my paintings.” 

Lai Mei-hua has been pondering the core in art ever since high school, even after getting married, throughout maternity and family life, art creation is like her uninterrupted life journal which often indicates her honest, profound reflection on herself. Her works are full of thoughts on “becoming women '' that appear in the form of gestation —which is women’s destiny. Lai’s interest in gestation is not limited to the breeding of mankind, it also inspires her to create images of all kinds of life forms. For example, she recombines plants, animals, bees and birds and thus forms a unique sense of symbolism, which is proved to be a unique set of text formed by different species characteristics that are chosen by the artist. A passage from On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin, published in 1859, has revealed the mystery of the Creator: “Staring at the river bank in the forest, which is covered by countless species of plants; birds chirping in the bushes, insects flying about, earthworms crawling through the wet soil. Hence one may contemplate these finely constructed species which are so different from each other, yet interdependent in such complex ways. And isn’t it interesting that they all arise from the law which operates around us… And such a perspective on Life has great magnificence.” The creation in the artist’s paintings emerges from wonder at the mystery of the diverse species, and this wonder, interconnecting with the artist’s mundane daily living, forms inner dialogue and imaginations. Isn’t that the sacredness and mystery of creation described in Darwin’s text? This wonder serves as inspiration to Lai’s surrealistic and bizarre pictures.

Jewelry, embroidery, gardening, music and literature play important roles in Lai’s daily life. Her paintings are like incarnations of sleep talk, mending the gap between reality and the surrealistic; all the spectacles in her mind originate from bits and pieces of her mundane life.

One may discover a unique style of brushwork in Lai’s works while contemplating them that has significance—a kind of brushwork akin to the effect of embroidery, as if her paintbrush/pen has penetrated the canvas like a needle. This can be seen in The Sands of Time (2017, 60Fx3): this work consists of a series of signs formed by embroidery-like strokes. It appears like a piece of embroidery when viewers approach it from a distance. The art of embroidery is to bring threads through the fabric via needlework, and hence produce an interleaved effect by/with variations of distance; the unique linear style Lai has created demonstrates an aesthetic taste that derives from her practice of embroidery, unintended. Her nearly 4-meters-wide paintings contain the traditional portrayal of movement of clouds and mists as well as the structure of documentary via drawing, as if they represent some kind of hieroglyph. I consider them the artist’s code of language which reveals her contemplations and feelings, echoing her artist statement: “About creating my paintings—it is my intention to narrate my story in an unabridged manner, thus I exhausted all possible images and symbols in my mind in case to express my thoughts, which is why my the composition of these works always appear complicated—they are always full of different dynamics.” In her works, the noticeable micro spaces formed by black lines have created 3-dimensional dynamics, as they are connected to their exterior space while containing themselves within.

Extreme Tenderness; Extreme Purity; Extreme Femininity

─Mei-Hua Lai's Authentic Art

By Chun-Hsien Li, associate professor of architecture, Kao Yuan University and director of the Center for the Arts

● Feminine Features

As one of the two genders, "women" jointly complete the whole of humanity together with men. In the human division of labor, women are given a different bodily structure and physiological cycle than men. This totally inescapable physical phenomenon exerts a tremendous effect on women, and causes them to develop different physical behavior than men.

Apart from inborn physiological influences, subsequent sociocultural influences additionally affect women. Due to inborn factors and acquired constraints, women are shaped to express "feminine characteristics," and it is thanks to these characteristics and social compatibility that women can jointly extend human social life in conjunction with men.

As for so-called "feminine characteristics," it is commonly questioned in the context of feminist thinking whether these "feminine characteristics" are merely constraints imposed from a male perspective, or are they rather a natural outgrowth of women's various attributes. This issue may perhaps be colored by historical fatalism, and may continue as human society and life develop. As far as women are concerned, when someone born a woman can "choose" to be a woman, there is no doubt that that naturally expressing "feminine characteristics" will perhaps be the central theme of their lives, and will be reflected in every aspect of their lives; in the case of an artist, they will be reflected in her art.

● Artist Mei-Hua Lai

According to artists in the same generation as Mei-Hua Lai, Lai was famous for her beauty as a young woman, and her beauty may have reinforced her "feminine characteristics." What we should bear in mind is that, as an artist, Mei-Hua Lai fully expressed these characteristics in her art.

Over many years, one of biggest features of Mei-Hua Lai's art is "taking things to an extreme." This taking of things to an extreme was first expressed in her extensions of subject matter: Most of the subjects of Lai's art consist of subtle details of the living environment or the parts of women's bodies. While the use of these types of subjects actually reflects the habitual methods of many female artists, this is where Mei-Hua Lai really shows her talent, and she is able to create amazing weird images using everyday objects. For example, in her 2005 painting "Flower Floating on Water," which is in the collection of the Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts, she starts with the shape of a flower, and extends that shape following her personal vision, with feminine forms and organs affixed to the flower's veins, forming a strange flower that is almost transcends our ordinary powers of imagination. Her 1992 work "My Lips with a Flavor of Bile" affixes the "lips" of many women to a woman's body, and these "lips" are also linked with "bile" evoking the sense of taste and sense of smell. Beginning with very personal experiences, she ultimately concludes with extreme images—this is the most distinctive aspect of Mei-Hua Lai's art.

Her willful excursions through the sea of consciousness and free-spirited gathering are utterly free of constraints; as a result, her works have repeatedly exceeded people's expectations and exhibited her complete freedom as an artist.

She also expresses another kind of "taking things to extremes" in her sensitivity to many kinds of visual objects. This gift enables her to profoundly "read" all the things she sees, allowing her to perceive deeper meanings in everyday objects and ordinary bodies. In the realm of art, her surpassing acuity enables her to confidently use a wide range of visual materials and techniques to fully express her profound insights. 2005. Flower2005. Flower

Mei-Hua Lai's "taking things to extremes" is also revealed in her "painterly" treatment of her art. Superficiality is almost absent from her works, and she typically involves herself in her art to a point where she cannot extricate herself. Taking the very elementary aspects of colors as an example, when she applies a color to the canvas, she will then repeatedly abrade, cover, and shade, etc. until the color fully conveys her feelings. Taking her "painterly" behavior to an extreme lends Lai's works the ability to touch viewers in the depths of their souls. As a result, viewers repeatedly read her art and praise her extraordinary talent and attention to detail.

"Taking things to extremes" in art is a basic precondition for an outstanding artist able to transcend superficial appearances, enter states that others cannot see, go beyond the ordinary, and set forth an astonishing universe. As a female artist, Mei-Hua Lai's "art of extremes" lets viewers see the "extreme female" and the feminine characteristics of tenderness, passion, stubbornness, inward thinking, physicality, and beautiful qualities. This "extreme woman" truly gives viewers a whole new understanding of women.

●Concluding Remarks

Mei-Hua Lai has spent most of an artistic career lasting several decades roaming in her personal worlds, freely engaging in fantasy, mental associations, deduction, and reasoning. Her deep feelings pervade even in the depths of her mind, and are depicted with complete sincerity. Combining her abundant talents and extreme femininity has enabled Mei-Hua Lai to create such boundlessly magnetic and thought-provoking "art of the whole woman."

Love—An Inexhaustible Source for Art

A Word on Mei-Hua Lai’s Solo Exhibition

        Some say it is quite unpleasant to look at Lai Mei-hua’s painting. Her figures rarely give a cheerful expression. Others detect a distinct flair of illustrations as her painting seems also highly decorative. One observation has to do with content while the other form. In either case, people tend to see merely the superficial.

        Frankly speaking, I know little about Mei-Hua Lai. All my little knowledge of her is based on her painting. When I first saw several of her works in some group exhibitions, my impression was that they were quite bizarre—the kind that was not easy to put in words. And it happened one time that I could go through dozens of works in her studio in one go. From early works to recent creations, they were sketches, color pencil drawings and oil paintings that spanned the better part of her career. Awe-struck, I remembered having this impulse to start composing a poem on the spot. Here was someone that has so much love in her heart and knows how to show it so powerfully. I couldn’t help but invite her, then and there, to a solo exhibition at the Go Go Gallery so that more people could appreciate her works.

        Love is really the most beautiful word in the world. But most of us dare not utter or show it. Many even misinterpret it—jealousy, hatred and even destruction have become synonyms with love.

        A general impression of artists is that they tend to be nervous or even neurotic as they are simply so sensitive. Mei-Hua Lai is exactly like that (a trait easily recognizable in her painting). Without a sufficiently sharp mind, how can one experience everything that the world has to offer? What else can distinguish artists from the rest of us? Her feelings in every aspect of daily life, both people and happenings, prompt her to ponder and paint. Take her younger sister’s marriage. It reminds her of a coffin and a funeral filled with flowers. In her “Happiness?” a man and a woman lie inside a flower that looks like the womb. A few peacock-like birds stroll nearby. One of them has laid two eggs. Are these meant to symbolize the beginning of life or the inescapability of man’s forming a family? I have this feeling that some sort of personal “sex code” is buried in many of her works, especially those depicting flowers. I wonder if the artist will agree with this interpretation.

        Her works are strongly reminiscent of story-telling. It explains why some will disparagingly compare them with illustrations. It is a common error among those who like to confine art to a specific mode of expression. “Like illustrations” is really a misleading phrase that necessitates a better-rounded definition of illustrations. There is no justification in using such an ill-defined term in the appraisal of another arm form. It was mentioned earlier that some will describe Lai’s works as an expression of agony. I find it hardly the case. From my standpoint, they are really an expression of love and life. We are all familiar with how delivering a baby is like. Has anyone ever seen a woman smiling while giving birth?

        Lastly I have a suggestion to make. One may as well “read” rather than just “look at” Mei-Hua Lai’s works.

Tzu-Kuey Hsu

Professor, Department of Fine Arts/Graduate Institute of Fine Arts

Dean, College of Art

Tainan University of Technology

1992

Some Thoughts on Mei-Hua Lai’s Solo Exhibition

        Writing about a painter and interpreting his or her works correctly is never easy. Most authors of such introductory articles are easily carried away by overstatements. Others tend to draw on their own state of mind or experience in giving meaning to the ideas and works of the painter in question. The end result would almost certainly prove a misleading one, thereby “creating” yet another painter who does not even exist. Are artists simply that straightforward and constant? Is it possible to faithfully pin down the thought of an artist in a short passage? I believe no people have feelings and ideas more complex than those of painters. As such, how can one expect to see a never-changing pattern of creation in their works? Without a temperament uniquely his or her own as well as inexhaustible creativity, the painter is likely to end up being a mere craftsman or woman.

        It is certainly possible to start writing about an exhibition after having looked at some works of the painter or engaged in a couple of conversations with the artist. Yet it is no easy task for me. We two have lived and worked together for two decades. I don’t know where to start because I know so much about her. She is extremely sensitive and so sincere that everything in this world can find its way onto canvas through her heart and her brush. For her, creativity never runs out. There is always something for her to paint. God must have endowed a special gift on her—an exceptionally incisive touch and a wealth of imagination combine to serve as a constant driving force behind her creation. When Mei-Hua Lai had her solo exhibition at the Go Go Gallery, Mr. Tzu-Kuey Hsu wrote an introductory article titled “Love—An Inexhaustible Source for Art.” Indeed, Lai regards love not as a sentiment confined to people. Anything that elicits the sensation of beauty—a flower, a cloud, the sea, a new moon, music, literature—can always fill the spectator with love. All this beauty and love is what inspires her works. To better appreciate her painting, “read” is really the preferable approach to “look.” In turn, one can expect to learn a lot more about the “content” and “form” of painting.

        Mei-Hua Lai has been painting for three decades. An occasional participant in group exhibitions, she rarely goes solo. In fact, she did not begin presenting some of her works to the public until three years ago. Given her own unique style, she does not identify herself with any school. A few years back, a renowned fellow painter advised her to change her style so as to better appeal to the times. But she would rather remain who she is and continue to paint the way she likes. Art is never a road of roses. But I know she will stick to her own way all the way.

Shih-Hsiung Su

1994