Colette Fu – Kaifuna

Maier Museum of Art at Randolph College’s 112th Annual Exhibition
Back to Front: Artists’ Books by Women

Colette Fu, ‘Kaifuna’, 2017, pop-up book, 25 x 17 in. Courtesy of the Artist.

To see this book in action: CLICK HERE

For her fantastic pop-up book Kaifuna, Colette Fu and an adventurous friend walked 17k up a mountain to find the place where “a lady with facial tattoo lived” and take her photograph. Kaifuna lives along the Dulong River in Northwest Yunnan Province along the borders of Tibet and Myanmar. Using bamboo needles and ink made from ashes from the bottoms of pans, Dulong girls got their tattoos at puberty and each clan had its own set of designs. The origin is not clear, but some claim it was to make them unattractive to powerful neighboring tribes who enslaved the Dulong and went after their women. Dulong women believe that their tattoos resemble butterflies and that the souls of their dead turned into butterflies. 

“Growing up I denied my Asian heritage for fear of being different, and tried to blend in as much as I could with the predominantly Caucasian community within which I lived. Through my artwork, I want to change the perceptions of what one “expects” to see of China, of women, of ethnic and cultural differences and allow people from within and without these communities, or access to them, to expand their understanding.

Most people outside of China do not know there are 56 ethnic groups within China. These groups have customs, histories, religious practices, languages, and lifestyles that greatly differ from their Han-majority neighbors. I am interested in showing, empowering and celebrating much of what is not part of China’s picture in the news. There is something that intrigues me about the powerful women there that differs from our mainstream Western world of racial and gender stereotypes.” ~Collette Fu

BIOGRAPHY

Raised in New Jersey, Fu graduated college with a degree in French language and literature, but she changed course during a trip to China’s Yunnan province, where she stayed for three years. In Yunnan, Fu reconnected with her family’s roots and discovered her own passion for photography and storytelling. Afterward, Fu returned to the United States and earned an MFA in photography from the Rochester Institute of Technology.

She relocated to Philadelphia, and while exploring the city, she discovered that it was rife with stories of ghosts and hauntings. Around the same time, she became fascinated by pop-ups and taught herself how to make them by deconstructing children’s pop-up books. Fu researched 20 haunted Philadelphia sites, which she photographed and transformed into gigantic pop-up book-sculptures.

In 2008 the artist received a Fulbright Fellowship to create photographic pop-ups depicting Yunnan Province’s ethnic minorities. The series known as “We are Tiger Dragon People” vividly portrays the life, culture, and customs of the Yunnan people. Fu photographs women and men in traditional costumes, with food displays, and during religious and ritual celebrations.

Fu has also created works commissioned by Vogue China, Canon Asia, and Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH). During an artist residency in Shanghai, Fu designed China’s largest pop-up book. She teaches classes nationally and abroad.