Meet Li Fang Hsieh | Artist and Graphic Designer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Li Fang Hsieh and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Li Fang, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
Besides expressing myself freely, I wanted to create art that could bring joy or service to my friends and family because they are the source of inspiration in my artistic career. It’s always a rewarding experience to see how people react to my work, and it motivates me to work harder in my practice because it brings me joy to see their reaction to my work. That’s why I pursue a creative career in art and design. I have the opportunity to expand myself into designing products or installations that can include audiences of different ages into my artistic world of mischievousness and innocence.

My paintings and toy products explore the theme of shock and humor. I love to see people owning a piece of my work and do whatever they want. Whether it is being placed on a shelf or being taken apart in a dollhouse, I wanted people to have the freedom to have fun.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My brand is called Fang Fang Toy. ILY! (I Love You!) is a collectible series of dolls consisting of four series of characters based on playful images of addiction: addiction to love, alcohol, tobacco and food. The collection also includes six other different dolls that represent the ILY! Series, ILY! Friends. Each one of them holds a different meaning of what it is to be affected by these four main addictions. It is purely a darkly humorous piece and not meant to be educational.

In the beginning I was making paintings that looks flat and has this retro style of gaming aesthetic. I would convey elements of children’s world of innocence and the adult world of addiction, sinister desires, repressed obsessions to create a tension. Although the characters are child-like, their behavior is dark and creepy. For instance, the painting “Playground’ these oddball characters are smiling, but they are stabbing one another or holding wine bottles drinking. I then translated the elements of this painting into 3-D printed sculptures because I wanted to bring these bizarre characters to life. I want to explore if making these 2-D characters into a sculpture will still give off an old-style digital effect. That’s how I started to get inspired to make 3D sculptures and develop them in to a product.

What I am most proud of is to be able to create something that is accessible to everyone especially to my friends and family. Where everyone can own something that I created and have fun with it.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
For the day, starting in the morning I would bring my friend to museums like Moma (mainly do a lot of shopping at Moma design store) and other small galleries in Chelsea area in the city. For lunch I will bring my friend to some of my favorite spots in the city like the Chelsea Market to enjoy the happy hours oysters, rooftop bars, and walk around little island for instagram pictures. At night, I would reserve some of my favorite Italian and Japanese restaurants in midtown and downtown New York. and late night I will bring my friend to Korea town bars to enjoy food and drinks.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I want to dedicate my success to my Hsieh family: my brother Jonathan and my parents, who supported and encouraged me to pursue art. And to my friends, who are my emotional support and inspiration for my creative career.

Website: melodyhsieh.art

Instagram: @melodyfangfang