李东海 | 呱呱
Li Donghai | Ribbit
中国 China

2023,这年不巧,我们一家人都因生病住院治疗。回国7年一直忙碌奔波,终于在这个时候停下来回望生活,期间偶然翻到一盘录像,那是92年拍摄的家庭纪录,3岁的我和父母在一起打牌。爸爸说:“现在我们就是一家人了”。于是,我邀请二老以录像里的座次,重回镜头前,一起折纸青蛙。爸爸折一个是爸爸,妈妈折一个是妈妈,我折一个在中间。把折好的成品放大做成公共艺术装置到捞鱼河公园的水塘里——青蛙一家人在看星星。当想许愿的时候,没有什么愿望比“家人健康、平安幸福”更重要的了。这也是家乡里千千万万个家庭的共同愿望。

我原本是以视频中父亲的那句“现在我们就是一家人了”命名作品,但这次布展期间吸引了很多游客和小朋友,他们都指这个大青蛙叫“呱呱”,我也觉得可爱。


借以《呱呱》这个作品,祝福我们的家乡、家庭、家园——稻花香里说丰年,听取蛙声一片。


The year 2023 was a tough year. My entire family was hospitalized at one point. Looking back over the past seven years, I have been in constant motion. This year, I finally stopped to look back over my life and take stock. I came across a family video from 1992, when I was three years old, in which I was playing cards with my parents. My father said, “We’re a family now.” I invited my parents to watch the video with me. As we sat in front of the screen, we folded paper frogs together. My father folded a father frog, my mother folded a mother frog, and my frog sat between them. I then magnified these three paper frogs into a public art installation: a family of frogs in the water gazing up at the stars together. When we make wishes, there is no greater wish than “health, peace, and happiness for our family.” This is the wish shared by millions of families everywhere.

I originally titled the artwork “We're a Family Now,” after my father's words in the video, but during the installation process, many visitors and children would point at the big frogs and say, “ribbit,” which I thought was cute.

With this work, I send my best wishes to our hometown, our families, our homeland. May the sounds of frogs in the fields herald a bountiful year.


云南昆明人,祖籍浙江绍兴,李显忠后裔,青年先锋艺术家,唐卡画师,墨行体创始人。现任教于云南大学。毕业于意大利罗马美术学院。作品横跨绘画、雕塑、书法、装置、影像、行为、数字艺术等。风格一面饱含传统文化深情,一面喷涌街头文化气息。尤其是独具标志性的墨形体空间书写,具有强烈的视觉冲击力和识别性。曾在罗马、东京、澳门等多个城市举办展览,作品多与国内外知名品牌联名或被藏家收藏。


Li Donghai is from Kunming. His family is originally from Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province, and he is a descendant of ancient statesman Li Xianzhong. He is an avant-garde artist, Thangka painter, and creator of “Moxingti” calligraphy. He currently teaches at Yunnan University. He graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts Rome. His creative practice spans painting, sculpture, calligraphy, installation, video, performance, and digital art. His style embodies a deep love for traditional culture, and an embrace of street culture. His distinctive “Moxingti” spatial calligraphy practice is noted for its powerful visual impact and high recognizability. He has held exhibitions in such cities as Rome, Tokyo, and Macau. His works have been featured in numerous major art collections and brand crossovers.