Artist Lu Yiying: A Creative Journey Across Cultures

Lu Yiying's artistic journey is like a perfectly blended cup of bubble tea, infused with the unique flavors of diverse cultures. Born in Shanghai and educated in Sydney and London, she ultimately found her creative home in San Francisco, where her works demonstrate the ability to communicate across languages and cultures.

Lu's work is deeply imprinted with the mark of Silicon Valley culture. She gained fame for creating the famous "Fail Whale" illustration, which became an iconic image during the service outage of a certain social media platform in 2008. This early reputation intertwined Lu's artistic career with the trajectory of the platform's development.

The original name of "Failing Whale" is "Lifting a Dreamer", depicting a scene where a white whale is lifted by eight orange birds with ropes. This artwork symbolizes the emotional weight brought by distance and the longing for reunion with loved ones. Early users strongly resonated with this whale, sparking widespread fan support, which ultimately led Lu to settle in San Francisco.

In 2016, Lu realized that there were no dumpling emojis available while discussing dinner plans with friends, so she injected a sense of humanity into Silicon Valley by advocating for the addition of a dumpling emoji. In 2017, she further designed five food emojis. The dumpling 🥟, bubble tea 🧋, chopsticks 🥢, takeout box 🥡, and fortune cookie 🥠 emojis that we commonly use today, as well as the peacock emoji 🦚 launched in 2018, all originated from her creative hands.

When NFTs rose to prominence in 2021, Lu also got involved, releasing limited edition and unique NFT works on multiple platforms. She stated that the proceeds from the "Whale of a Time" series have been donated to a nonprofit organization for ocean conservation.

After three years of development, Lu Zheng is ready to launch an eagerly anticipated new NFT project. This upcoming series is part of the "Get Based" event from a certain NFT trading platform and a certain public blockchain, which will delve into human experiences and emotions, and may also pay tribute to her iconic whale image.

In the following conversation, Lu shared her creative journey, the influence of her cultural background on her art, and the creative concept behind her upcoming work "Get Based".

Lu believes that growing up in a culture that uses Chinese characters has profoundly influenced her artistic creation. She explains that Eastern languages place more emphasis on context, while Western languages are more linear and rigorous. This difference in language structure affects people's ways of thinking and expressing themselves.

Speaking of the upcoming "Get Based" series, Lu mentioned that this series is inspired by her recent experiences in New York and her reflections on the current social conditions. She hopes her creations can bring joy and emotional connection to the audience, with a particular focus on mental health issues. Lu loves the concept of "ocean of emotions" and plans to incorporate elements of National Ocean Month and Pride Month into her work in June.

Lu emphasized that artists play an important role in guiding conversations about mental health. She believes that art should convey meaningful messages and impact the real world. She hopes her work can elevate emotions and transform seemingly unpleasant things into inspiring elements.

Reflecting on the experience of winning a Shorty Award 15 years ago for her work "Failed Whale," Lu expressed that she still hopes her art can help emotions transcend their original forms. She is particularly interested in creating art that can transport people into different emotional states, which was also the inspiration behind the original name of "Failed Whale," which was "Uplifting Dreamers."

Lu Yiying's artistic journey showcases the power of cultural fusion. Her works not only transcend the boundaries of language and geography but also delve into universal human emotional experiences. By combining Eastern cultural elements with modern digital art, Lu has created a unique and resonant visual language that brings comfort and inspiration to the audience. Her upcoming new works will undoubtedly continue this exploration, bringing new vitality and depth to the world of digital art.