Today we’d like to introduce you to Xin Shu.
Xin, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I make art about me, about the people around me, and about me and the world. It is impossible to talk about my art making without being narcissistically talking about my evolution as a person. This below is an insert from my diary, I see it as a reflection. I think, as raw as it is, it best explains how I make art and how I got to where I am now.
Wednesday night after I came home from a late-night Denny’s visit with my boyfriend, I was left alone in this body. The body my soul is trying so hard to cling on to.
Nothing seems real in this body, I wanted put marks on my body, marks made of beautiful inks. but I don’t know why. Maybe I wanted to hurt it, change it, or punish my body in an aesthetic way. Look mom, my scares are butterfly shaped. Scares from my own torture, proving the mind inside of this body still exists, clinging to life.
I need saving. Why do I create work about my body is beyond me, it’s sounded straight out of my psyche, it looked bizarre in a lovely way. my unconscious reaching out trying to communicate with me. What do you think about my body舒馨, do you like it, does it fit who you really are?
I called my mom about a racist incident that happened to me in class today, she said “hey you look fatter? Did you lose the weight I told you to? “ my dad hang up the facetime call because he doesn’t want to look at my round face anymore.
Maybe that’s why I keep on getting tattoos and piercing, because I’m so thankful of this gift mom and dad gave me I want to wreck it, change it, modify it like I’ve seen them do on Pinterest. I don’t hate myself; I just hate this body.
I have been obsessed with making sculpture that involves animal prints. The thing about animal prints and their pattern is—-they were born with it and they can’t change it. I envy that, their bodies serve a clear purpose they can’t afford to forget. It camouflages them and helps them mate. There are no deeper reasons beyond the ultimate goal of (surviving). Their bodies remember more of their purpose than their soul. They have no choice but to live with it, depending on it.
I’ve been using this body for too long, not living with it.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I have been away from home since I was 14. English is not my first language so I think that is one of the biggest obstacles I have faced. I have been in America for 7 years now. From speaking English like I’m a 6-year-old with a speech impediment to now just having an accent, I can say I made some progress along the way. That is also why I started making art from high school. There were so much that I wanted to express, but language had become a barrier. I started making clay sculpture in High school, expressing my emotion through different forms of clay was very cathartic for me. I was fascinated with how moldable clay was when it was wet, yet surprisingly transformative it can be after firing.
Even if I don’t have this language barrier, expressing myself through words has always been hard for me. Perhaps it is a cultural thing, being in a traditional Asian family we didn’t really express ourselves vocally. Love was shown in a different way. Love was unspoken but conspicuous in my family. Appreciation was shown more through action than words. That is why I did my first performative piece with my mom. I set up a piece of glass between the two of us and asked her to spray-paint my name over and over again until we can’t see each other again. Through that practice I have truly learned the benefits of using art as a language to communicate to those we hold dear to us. Ever since that art became a very intimate way of communicating for me.
In my years in America I have developed a passion for writing. I think writing as a non-native speaker does post problems that I have never thought of. What I thought was poetic use of language can be taken as bad grammar. (though I do struggle with bad grammar haha) It is a path of continuously learning and correcting mistakes. I am still learning the ways of art and communication.
Tell us about your artwork – what should we know?
I make artwork to communicate with people around me, the closest people to me. Surprisingly, the more specific my target audience are, the better other people can relate to my art. I specialize in making fabric sculpture, performative videos and clay sculptures. One of my biggest joy is showing my art to the public and listening to feedbacks. It brings me closer to this world, and to the people around me.
I want to provide a new way of communication between people. I help people like me express their complicated emotions that are too heavy for words. For a loved one perhaps, or family and friends. My work is very personal to each.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
My family definitely deserves a lot of credit. They respected my choice of going to an art school.
My friends also have been there for me, helping me along the way of navigating a new country when I came here, or a new college. They have always been so supportive and believed in me and my art.
The professors at my school gave me a lot of insight about my work, and helped me learn a lot about the art world.
Contact Info:
- Phone: 4136298358
- Email: xinsueshu@outlook.com
- Instagram: amisueshu
Image Credit:
Thea Shu
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