Artwork Details

Description

Artist: Lily Honglei Medium: Oil paintings on paper, digital animation, soundtrack Duration: 3’29” Uniquely composed with a series of original oil paintings, “The Butterfly Lovers” is an iconic artwork created by Lily Honglei, an award-winning Asian American artist collaborative based in Flushing Chinatown, New York. Reinterpreting a popular East Asian folktale, the animated short film depicts dreamlike dislocation, profound loneliness and isolation but also dignity and cultural identity of Asian American immigrants. As part of this marginal group, we have witnessed many tragic life and death stories of our friends who pursue American dreams. They have been struggling to be accepted and adapt to the new society tainted with prejudices against immigrants and minorities. The Butterfly Lovers symbolically reflects these spiritual struggles, cultural identity dilemmas, and resiliency in the Asian American community.