Mengjie Mo, originally from Yunnan, China, now resides and works in Detroit, U.S. She completed her Master's in Fine Art at Cranbrook Academy of Art in 2023 and was honored with Maxwell-Hanrahan Foundation Materials Award in 2022 and AJF Top 10 Young Artist Award in 2024. Her life experiences, from living in economically disadvantaged and ethnic minority areas to volunteering in African regions, have instilled in her a critical perspective on societal issues. Mo uses her art to challenge patriarchal norms and to blur the boundaries that separate individuals, advocating for a more interconnected and inclusive world.
Mo
she/her
Detroit, MI, USA
“The oddity of randomness and the beauty of mathematical logic occurring in the same piece represents that I am using my work as an outlet to explore a random woman's adventure in this world. Textile and beading work throughout history have shackled women's lives but also contain women's magic. By using the tension of beads and thread, my practice calls back the memory of typical historical women's labor. But now women's traditional skills are my new weapon to fight patriarchy.”
How does your work relate to the theme connection?
“Same labor recall same memory, I do believe that is the psychic moment to connect people together."
"Husk", glass beads, 4.5" x 1.5" x 18", 2024“The way we love ourselves.
We see ourselves from others.
We care and love.
We struggle with others' struggles.
Nothing can break the connection in the end
Nothing will break the connection in the end.
I see you through me.."
What role does connection play in your creative process?
What connection(s) does your queerness make to the world around you?
“It makes me challenge the idea of ‘supposed’"