Wufufu
五福符 Wufufu, 2021, installation paper, artist tape, 12 x 12 inch/each surface
Searching for security physically and mentally.
During every Lunar New Year, each household in Taiwan will replace the old spring couplets with the new ones.
“Wufufu” is a type of spring couplets that be put in front of the doors to wish for good lucks and drive out the evil spirits. This tradition was passed down since Song Dynasty, while the process of making it includes papercraft to carve down the patterns that have auspicious meanings. While also inspired by the old architecture in Taiwan, the patterns in this piece was taken from the window grating that can often be seen with houses and apartments. This grid design was introduced into Taiwan in the 1920s along with the western country architectures and went into history in the 1990s after stainless steel became a popular building material for windows.
Born and raised in Han culture, Wu presented this work as an approach to look into her own history and the living environment in her upbringing. She install them in her apartment in the United States as representation of herself adapting in to the western culture after moving to Los Angeles in 2018.
Wufufu - Couplet, 2021 installation paper, yes glue, school glue 11 x 11 inch/each surface
As extended to her previous “Wufufu” work, the Chinese words, commonly used within icon forms, such as joy, and wealth were directly placed on top of the grid.
They are often written on the spring couple for bringing the blessing to the household.
福 fu, 祿 lu, 壽 Shou, 喜 Xi, 財 Cai