Lu Yiying: From Failed Whale to NFT Cross-Border Artist's Digital Innovation Journey

Contemporary Artist Lu Yiying: The Fusion of Cross-Cultural Creation and Digital Art

Lu Yiying is a unique artist whose work blends multicultural backgrounds with innovations of the digital age. Born in Shanghai, educated in Sydney and London, and ultimately based in San Francisco, Lu Yiying is known for her ability to communicate across languages and cultures.

Lu Yiying's artistic career is closely connected with technological development. She is widely known for creating the famous "Failing Whale" illustration, which became an iconic image during the downtime of a certain social platform in 2008. The piece titled "Lifting a Dreamer" depicts a white whale being lifted by eight orange birds with a rope, symbolizing the emotional weight of distance and the longing for closeness.

Dialogue with Lu Yiying

In 2016, Lu Yiying advocated for the addition of a dumpling emoji, adding more warmth to digital communication. Subsequently, she designed several popular food emojis, including dumplings 🥟, bubble tea 🧋, chopsticks 🥢, takeout box 🥡, and fortune cookie 🥠, as well as a peacock emoji 🦚.

In 2021, with the rise of NFT art, Lu Yiying also began to venture into this field. She launched limited edition and unique NFT works on multiple platforms, and donated the proceeds from one of the series to marine conservation organizations.

After three years of accumulation, Lu Yiying is preparing to launch a brand new series of NFT works. This upcoming series is part of an event that will delve into human experiences and emotions, and may also pay homage to her iconic whale image.

When discussing the influence of language on artistic creation, Lu Yiying shared her insights on the structural differences between Eastern and Western languages. She believes that these differences profoundly affect people's ways of thinking and artistic expression. For example, Western languages such as English have a rigorous structure, which tends to favor linear thinking; whereas Eastern languages like Chinese place more emphasis on context, which helps cultivate narrative ability.

Dialogue with Lu Yiying

Lu Yiying views NFTs as tokens that carry energy and symbolic meaning, conveying profound significance in the digital world. She emphasizes that although artificial intelligence is changing the way art is created, the role of human artists remains irreplaceable because art is fundamentally a way of telling human stories.

Regarding the upcoming new work, Lu Yiying stated that she was inspired by her recent trip to New York. She realized the mental health challenges people face after the pandemic, and thus hopes to create works that bring joy and emotional connection. She believes in the healing power of art and hopes to bring a sense of relaxation to the audience through color and shape.

Dialog with Lu Yiying

Lu Yiying's new work will be released on June 25th. She hopes this series can reflect the dual significance of June as both National Ocean Month and Pride Month. One of the pieces is titled "Make Waves" and may be presented in animated form.

Dialogue Lu Yiying

When it comes to the role of artists in promoting mental health dialogue, Lu Yiying believes it is both the responsibility and honor of artists. She shared her experience in the New York subway, which strengthened her determination to convey positive messages through art.

Dialogue with Lu Yiying

Lu Yiying emphasized that art should convey meaningful messages. She believes that although crypto art is composed of bits and codes, it can impact the real world and people's lives. Her work aims to elevate emotions, transforming seemingly unpleasant things into inspiring elements.

Conversation with Lu Yiying

Finally, Lu Yiying expressed her hope to continue creating art that guides people into different emotional states. Her works, whether it is the early "Failed Whale" or the upcoming new series, revolve around the theme of "Elevating Dreamers," symbolizing emotions, dreams, and immigrant experiences.

Conversation with Lu Yiying

WAVES-4.85%
View Original
This page may contain third-party content, which is provided for information purposes only (not representations/warranties) and should not be considered as an endorsement of its views by Gate, nor as financial or professional advice. See Disclaimer for details.
  • Reward
  • 8
  • Share
Comment
0/400
MetaMaximalistvip
· 07-11 21:41
early crypto adopter. web3 thought leader. nft maximalist since 2017. if you're not thinking in protocols, you're ngmi
Reply0
PrivateKeyParanoiavip
· 07-11 20:37
Dumpling emoticons are not as good as cats.
View OriginalReply0
notSatoshi1971vip
· 07-10 20:41
Ah, that whale was painted by her.
View OriginalReply0
MemecoinResearchervip
· 07-09 13:47
based af - meme art pioneer doing metrics that matter tbh
Reply0
GasFeeCrybabyvip
· 07-09 13:45
Ah, this little Whale really touches me.
View OriginalReply0
PerennialLeekvip
· 07-09 13:44
Social anxiety Whale is amazing!
View OriginalReply0
HodlTheDoorvip
· 07-09 13:37
That dead whale is quite cute.
View OriginalReply0
SelfStakingvip
· 07-09 13:27
The failed Whale is my youth.
View OriginalReply0
Trade Crypto Anywhere Anytime
qrCode
Scan to download Gate app
Community
English
  • 简体中文
  • English
  • Tiếng Việt
  • 繁體中文
  • Español
  • Русский
  • Français (Afrique)
  • Português (Portugal)
  • Bahasa Indonesia
  • 日本語
  • بالعربية
  • Українська
  • Português (Brasil)