Colette Fu ~ Pennsylvania

Artist Statement: "My pop-ups are a way for me to speak and inform; the real and implied motion in the pop-ups link to a temporal element and an inevitable corollary is to awe and unsettle. Constructing pop-ups allows me to combine intuitive design and technical acuity with my love of traveling as I try to understand the world around me. With pop-up books I want to eliminate the boundaries between book, installation, photography, craft and sculpture.”

We are Tiger Dragon People series

Colette Fu: "With the help of a Fulbright fellowship, I began photographing for We are Tiger Dragon People in 2008. 25 of the 55 minority tribes of China reside in Yunnan Province and comprise less than 8.5% of the nation’s population, with the Han representing the majority.

"My mother is a member of the black Yi tribe; her grandfather was Lung Yun, governor of Yunnan from 1927-1945 and commander-in-chief of the 1st Army Group. Learning about my Yi ancestry in my mid-twenties inspired me to begin this work and is still in progress.

"Traveling through the mountainous Yi landscape, one old Yi man told me, 'Although an eagle flies far into the distance, its wings will fold back. For the Yi, the ultimate goal of life is to find the path of your ancestors.' Another Yi man advised me, 'Don’t follow the black road, which is madness, dampness, illness and the ghost road. You should follow the white road, which leads you back to your ancestors.'

"With a generous award from the Leeway Foundation and the Swatch Art Peace Hotel artist residency in Shanghai, I have extended the project to include ethnic minority groups outside of Yunnan Province. This project has also been funded by the Independence Foundation, Puffin Foundation, Pennsylvania Council on the Arts and the Visual Artist Network."

Bamei, Peach Blossom in a Forest
By Colette Fu
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Colette Fu, 2008 - 2015. Edition of 10.

17 x 25 x 10.5" single opening pop-up. Ink: Epson Ultrachrome Ink. Paper: Inkpress Rag Cool Tone 300gm, Epson Enhanced Matte. Glue: PVA and 3M 568 Positionable Adhesive. Cover: Black Iris cloth.

Colette Fu: "Bamei means 'cave in the forest' in Zhuang language. Tao Yuanming, an Eastern Jin Dynasty (317-420) poet, wrote of an isolated Peach Blossom Valley where people lived a simple, pastoral life. For centuries, Chinese people merely regarded this valley as imaginary. To the Chinese, the peach blossom symbolizes luck, love, and longevity, and to some - immortality."
(SOLD/Out of Print)

Chinoiserie Extravagance
By Beatrice Coron and Colette Fu
[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]: Colette Fu / Beatrice Coron, 2016. Edition of 8.

7 x 5.75" closed, 7 x 33" extended; 6 panels including pastedowns. Accordion structure. Cut Arches paper on digital photography. Pop-ups. Papercutting. Concept and papercutting by Beatrice Coron. Pop-ups, photography, and design by Colette Fu. Bound in cloth over boards with tie and bone closure. Signed, numbered and dated by the artists.

Beatrice Coron and Colette Fu combine their talents to produce a lovely six panel work displaying activities in the lives of Chinese communities. They tell these visual stories of daily life through papercutting and pop-ups.
(SOLD/Out of Print)

By Colette Fu
Philadelphia: Colette Fu, 2008 - 2019. Edition of 10.

25 x 17 x 8" single opening pop-up. Ink: Epson Ultrachrome Pigment Ink. Paper: Epson Premium Presentation Matte mounted onto Cougar 60lb smooth cover. Glue: PVA and 3M repositionable adhesive. Cover: Chines Brocade, bonded Leather, and Tassel. Signed and numbered by the artist.

Colette Fu: "China is comprised of 55 officially recognized ethnic minority groups. My mother is black Nuosu Yi, one of the many subgroups of the Yi nationality. As the Han Chinese honor the dragon, Yi people worship the tiger as their grandest totem. As the ancestor of humans, the Tiger is the creator of heaven, earth, and all creatures. Upon a Yi person's last breath their soul transforms into a tiger.

"Yi people from Southeast Chuxiong (a Yi Autonomous Prefecture) believe that they once lived in a mystical forest disturbed by serpents and wild beasts. Annually, under the direction of the black Tiger King, they offer sacrifices and dance to reflect the journey and way of life of the Yi people. Yi men dress up in felted tiger costumes and visit each house to guard the village from evils. They dance - mimicking surveying, plowing, harrowing, sowing, and weeding - all steps of the rice-growing cycle, to ensure a healthy crop and long life for all. Thus ‘Luoma’, the Tiger Festival, was created to protect the village and display the Yi people's tiger-like strength and valor.

"2022 is a year of the Tiger, starting from February 1st, 2022, and ending on January 21st, 2023. It is a Water Tiger year. The Tiger is known as the king of all beasts in China. The zodiac sign Tiger is a symbol of strength, exorcising evils, and braveness. Many Chinese kids wear hats or shoes with a tiger image of for good luck.” (www.chinahighlights.com).
(SOLD/Out of Print)

Dai Food
By Colette Fu
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Colette Fu, 2008 - 2013 . Edition of 10.

17 x 25 x 10.5"single opening pop-up. Ink: Epson Ultrachrome Ink. Paper: Epson Enhanced Matte mounted onto Cougar 60lb smooth cover. Glue: PVA and 3M 568 Positionable Adhesive. Cover: Black Iris cloth. Signed, numbered, and dated by the artist.

Colette Fu: "The Dai people refer to their land as 'bazi', meaning tranquil and beautiful. Their homes are in a lush subtropical area near river basins with exceptionally fertile soil. Their food is similar to Thai food in that it combines sour, spicy, salty, and sweet flavors but with its own distinctive style."
(Out of Print)

Tao Hua Yuan Ji
ByColette Fu
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Colette Fu, 2018. One-of-a-Kind.

23 x 34 x 7" open, 17 x 23 x .5" closed. Single opening pop-up book. Ink: Epson Ultrachrome Pigment Ink. Paper: Inkpress Rag Cool Tone 300gm, Rice Paper, Epson Enhanced Matte. Cover: Chinese Brocade, Bonded Leather, Davey Board. Signed by the artist.

Colette Fu: "Bamei means 'cave in the forest' in Zhuang language. Tao Yuanming, an Eastern Jin Dynasty (317-420 CE) poet, wrote of a traveler who came upon an isolated peach blossom valley beyond a cave where people seeking political refuge lived an ideal, harmonic life with nature and each other. Although villagers told the traveler not to tell of their location, he vainly marked his path and sent government officials who were unable to find it. To the Chinese, this story is metaphoric of an imaginary unattainable Utopia where the peach blossom symbolizes luck, love, longevity, and to some - immortality.

"The Zhuang people of Southwest Yunnan Province claim that they are the village depicted in Tao Yuanming's story. I traveled there in 2008 and have not told anyone how to get there."

“Tao Hua Yuan Ji" was the 2018 Meggendorfer Artist Book Prize winner.
(SOLD)

Yi Costume Festival
By Colette Fu
Philadelphia: Colette Fu, 2008 - 2013 . Edition of 10.

17 x 25 x 7" single opening pop-up. Printed on Inkjet Rice paper with Epson Ultrachrome ink. Bound in Chinese brocade-covered boards. Tassel attached to bottom spine end. Signed, numbered, and dated by the artist.

Colette Fu: "Long ago, there was a young Yi couple in love. In pursuit of the girl, a jealous Devil King tried to kill the boy. An old man taught the young girl to crow like a rooster to call out the sun and drive the Devil away. The girl saved her boyfriend, and the villagers now show their gratitude by wearing cockscomb hats that bring luck, safety, and happiness to their people."
(Out of Print)

Yi Costume Festival [Scroll]
By Colette Fu
Philadelphia: Colette Fu, 2014. Edition of 2.

21" scroll extends to 120". Materials: Chinese brocade fabric, wood, rice paper. Image printed on Hahnemühle rice paper with Epson Ultrachrome ink. Scroll closure ribbon and bone clip. Laid in 22.25 x 3.5 x 3" cloth-covered box lined with red velvet lining and red ribbon lift . Bone and loop closure. One copy in box; one is not.

Colette Fu: "Long ago, there was a young Yi couple in love. In pursuit of the girl, a jealous Devil King tried to kill the boy. An old man taught the young girl to crow like a rooster to call out the sun and drive the Devil away. The girl saved her boyfriend, and the villagers now show their gratitude by wearing cockscomb hats that bring luck, safety, and happiness to their people."

Fu also produced a pop up version of the Yi Costume Festival which is now out of print.
(SOLD)