King Fu is an 18-year-old artist currently studying in Shenzhen College international education, whose work focuses around femininity and combatting period-stigma. She aspires to major in fashion design.
Sophia:
What inspired you to start art?
King Fu: I think just as a kid, I’ve always liked to draw and stuff, and so it’s always been a passion of mine and there isn’t really a point where I was, like, “I’m gonna start doing art now”. It’s just kind of progressively, along the way of growing up, just paint whatever the things I enjoyed the most.
And would you say art was always your medium of communication and expressing yourself?
Yes. Art, including drama, music, and fine art as well, so it’s not just art as in painting or drawing.
Do you have anybody who’s your inspiration?
Yes. I take inspiration from a lot of different types of media and sources. I would say my mom is my inspiration because she is really cool and has great taste and she’s really inspired me. But also, for example, fashion designers such as Lisa Marcella, Simone Rocha, and a lot of other amazing fashion designers. Also Vivienne Westwood. [These] are some of [the] people that I draw inspiration from. But most of the time, I’m just inspired by my life and everything around me.
Could you describe a recent project related to art or fashion, and how the theme of femininity perhaps ties to your artwork?
Yeah, so recently, I created a fashion project as part of my portfolio about menstruation. It kind of started with an anecdote experience. So I’ve always struggled, kind of, with just accepting my feminine body and especially changes that go on in a female body during puberty and everything. And nobody really talks about it, like everybody knows it’s gonna happen, but nobody really talks and be like, “hey, how’s your period?”, you know? (“Yeah, I definitely agree.”) It’s not a casual conversation, so people just get along with it quietly even though it is half the population [who experience menstruation]. And there’s certain stigmas associated with menstruation and stuff. And so I really wanted to break those stigmas and that’s why I explored that theme in my fashion project.
"I was inspired by vintage menstruation outfits that were like in the 1800's, [like] how women dealt with periods back then."
Could you briefly describe what this project is? Or how this explores this theme?
Okay, so because it’s a fashion project, [the] ultimate goal is to kind of create a garment. So I started off by doing my research. So I researched about different stigmas associated with menstruation and there’s actually positive and negative stigmas – so I started with that. And then after you do your primary [and] secondary research, like asking my female friends about their experiences, and words that may be associated with menstruation, and then afterwards I started draping, or making the clothes, and I was inspired by vintage menstruation outfits that were like in the like 1800’s, like how women dealt with period back then. And there were garments that they wore to deal with [the] period. And so I was inspired by that. And then I started also taking inspiration from the colour of menstruation products, and the textures, and I ultimately created a knitwear out of that.
What sort of impact or feedback did you receive from your audience for creating this project? Would you say you received any negative comments or any resistance in your life because you’re tied to the theme of femininity?
No, ‘cause I also created a short fashion film alongside my garment, and the responses were mainly positive. I didn’t show it to a lot of people ‘cause it was, like, portfolio stuff, but most of the people were positive about the video and they felt like – also, my male teachers who were helping me [were] really supportive of my idea and stuff. And so I haven’t really been faced with any big [resistance].
That’s really good, actually. Ultimately, what does embracing femininity mean to you?
I think embracing femininity is about embracing everything about yourself, or everything about a female, about a woman, you know? Even if it’s the stereotypical things. I know that now a lot of people are trying to diverse – not diversify – but to explore other parts of femininity, but I also think [that] it’s okay to embrace just anything – even your really girly, like, parts of it.
Just, basically having no restrictions. There is no ‘what you can do as a woman' and ‘what you can’t do as a woman’. And just whatever you want to do as a woman is your choice, and that’s female identity.
Thank you so much. That was a very nice talk with you.
Thank you!
King Fu was interviewed by Sophia Mok, and this interview was transcribed by Natalie Hon. To listen to the full episode, you can check out our Spotify Podcast. You can also leave any comments / thoughts / questions underneath this article!
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