NEW YORK, May 29, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Within recent years, Mukbang has turned into a popular genre of live-streaming. More than millions of followers love watching influencers eat in front of the cameras and also enjoy their funny commentary. However, some critics point out Mukbang's dark side behind the scenes. On the one hand, food consumed during a mukbang isn't the healthiest foods, especially in extra-large quantities. Many mukbangers thrive on saturated fats and caloric intakes, but this eating habit often leaves those mukbanger feeling sick. Some mukbangers have to spit food out after finishing the livestream, because they want to keep healthy or remain body shape. On the other hand, it was unhealthy to overeat repeatedly. But those influencers still enjoy being a mukbanger just because they get the chance to make a ton of money. In order to raise public's awareness of the diet issues and health problems behind the popular live-streaming of Muckbang, Luna Jiang created the sculpture artwork "Tu Zi" to reflect the critical situation of mukbangers, and left the room for the audience to discuss more this recent social problem.
Tuzi
"Tu Zi" is a series of biomorphic ceramic sculptures in different shapes based on growing fungus or an organism. Each of them contains holes that share a similar look to a human mouth. "When I first designed it, I made some really cute rabbits' modes with pink color. However, by modifying the appearance of the artwork, I eliminated the pure cuteness in the original design and emphasized the conflict behind the cuteness," Luna stated. Compared to pure cuteness, Luna added some discomfort to "Tu Zi,'' because she hopes people will notice that there are some violent factors behind cuteness. This artwork intends to reveal a secretive group of influencers, who are being mukbangers. This group of people can be called themselves 'Tu Zi' - 'rabbits' in Chinese pronunciation. The cutesy name in fact has a real dark connotation, because "Tu Zi'' could also mean "vomiters," which is the hidden meaning of its title. The behavior of vomiting and purging has become a secret for mukbangers. After turning off the cameras, they hid behind and let the undigested food pour out of their mouths. "The public is still unaware of these diet issues and health problems of mukbangers. The reason why I picked rabbit as the core element of "Tu Zi '' is that I want to increase people's awareness of the situation of mukbangers and raise this social issue." Luna said.
Just like "Tu Zi", most of Luna's artworks mainly focus on discussing the real meaning of "cuteness". She loves to express the contrast between cuteness and violence. The meaning behind the attractive appearance can be viewed as Luna's mature artwork theme and her personal artistic style. "Personally, I preferred to get ideas from my own life experience and then go deeper into the social issues. At the early stage, my artwork focused more on visual presentation, which is relatively simple. Nowadays, I pay more attention to the deep-level expression behind the visual presentation..." Luna explained. "Cuteness" is not a positive word for her, because she feels like that "cuteness" kind equates to weakness. Actually people are more willing to protect those small, easily injured, and weak stuff, and call it "cute". And behind the word, there is also a stereotype and a desire for control, which is the darker side behind cuteness. Most of the paintings and sculptures she created before are small and cute, but Luna wants to convey that there is someone who may look cute, but they do have some hidden personalities that are unknown to most of us. Luna hopes that people will explore and redefine the deeper meaning of "cuteness" through her artworks.
In addition, Luna was the curator of the exhibition "Alice, Wake up!" in NYC. "Alice, Wake Up'', originates from the classic fairy tale Alice in Wonderland. At the end of the story, the self-awakening of Alice enables her to escape from the wonderland and return to reality. Luna interviewed many artists at that time when she planned the exhibition. Luna wanted to express self-awakening in the exhibition, so she used "Alice, Wake up" as the best description of the theme. "I hope the audience could discover a space beyond reality and then bring some feelings back to reality through the exhibition. I would love to help people realize the power of self-awakening. I will keep working on it" Luna told us.
Media Contact
Luna Jiang Work Studios
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lu-jiang-art
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USA Art News: https://usaartnews.com/art-market/an-interview-with-new-york-artist-luna-jiang
Website: https://www.lunajiang.com/humannature
SOURCE: Luna Jiang Work Studios