HONGXI LICV
EN /

IG: @SASSYLI
EMAIL: hongxiliwork@gmail.com
Hongxi Li (b. 1996, Xiamen, China) is a London-based artist whose concept-driven practice spans sculpture, installation, performance, moving image, and photography. Her work examines how social systems, mass production hierarchy and power structures shape behaviour, emotion, and the body, with a focus on post communist and Sino-capitalist contexts. 

Li frequently draws on familiar objects and design, from furniture to architectural forms, are outcome of her research and critique of control, territory, and systems of belief. Her installations often provide spatial frameworks for performance narratives. Central to her practice is Jolene, a recurring fictional persona who appears across projects as both character and medium. Dressed in grey corporate attire, Jolene embodies an East Asian female archetype through which Li distorts social roles and explores collective pressure, aspiration, and emotional discomfort. Through subtle humour, Li’s work reveals the fragile balance between  individual agency and the structures that shape contemporary life. 



Catalogue No Project

020.2025

ANAPPOINTMNET


019.2025

BLACK HOLE LOUNGE


018.2024

JOLENE’S NEW CLOTHES


017.2024

HEAVEN GREEN


016.2024

QUANTA


015.2024

SANDCASTLE


014.2024

YES YES YES


013.2023

THE ‘NEXT’ DINER


012.2023

ONE NIGHT


011.2022

TRAVEL LIGHT


010.2022

AT WORK ON DISPLAY


009.2022

SHAPED


008.2022

DREAM RICH


007.2022

SCHOOL CHAIR


006.2021

CONSTRAINT SERISE


005.2014

BOW SERIES


004.2021

EXHAUSTION SERIES


003.2021

 UNCERTAINTY SERIES


002.2018

NEW SKY CITY


001.2014

SWEATSHOP&DREAM






014.2023_The ‘Next’ Diner


 Title: The ‘Next’ Diner
Year: 2024
Medium: Installation
Exhibited at:
 9 French Place, London, UK (2023)


The Next Diner installation combines furniture and utensils to explore the fast-paced and fragmented rhythms of urban life. Drawing inspiration from American diner culture — known for its round-the-clock service and nostalgic atmosphere. 

A fabricated table top’s sliced-in-half red Americana-style design enhances the narrative of a solitary dining scenario. At its centre lies the Steakcake sculpture, a fusion of greasy steak (main course) and sugary chocolate cake (dessert), symbolising the perpetual mental state of busy city dwellers always looking ahead. Adjacent to it, the Next Diner Spork sculpture represents the multitasking culture prevalent in modern society. It combines a silver fork and a dessert spoon, highlighting the struggle of juggling both steak and cake, ultimately proving ineffective as either utensil. The custom-designed Next Diner logo appears on napkins and plates, serving as a reminder of society's relentless pursuit of progress.

The installation features a chair sculpture on one side of the table, while the other side remains open for viewers to stand. The Next Diner Bar Stool sculpture, with a spring replacing its solid pole, reflects the constant motion, chaos and unsettled nature of city life. Diners cater to those short on time, from office workers and taxi drivers to partygoers and tourists. They serve as a microcosm of a city's collective chaos and offer a glimpse into the often-overlooked fragments of daily urban life.




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