An Other Renaissance

Like many Chinese-Canadians, Zheng Li grew up idolizing many Black artists, from hip hop and r&b musicians, to street artists and dancers. He listened to their struggle and felt their energy while seeking empowerment through their work. He associated as an Other with them in a White-dominated Western world, with no Asian protagonists to look up to on television, on the radio, in movies, or on billboards. This series of four digital collage prints is an expression of his belief in Black artists as modern-day monarchs, gods, martyrs, and philosophers of the Western world.

This digital collage repurposes the School of Athens (1509-1511) by Raphael, in the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican, and overlays cutouts of rappers to imagine an Other Renaissance. It’s pretty easy to seek out @champagnepapi, but can your eyes ﬁnd @missymisdemeanorelliott?

The School of Kevin’s Favourite Rappers

(or the School of Rap)

129 cm x 100 cm

Digital collage printed on matte paper

Grafting melanin, grafﬁti on skin,

Fungi-infested body, sgrafﬁto until they’re bleeding out,

Immortalized into martyrs of their respective revolutions.

For the causes of liberté, égalité, et fraternité,

For the oppressed, impoverished, and neglected,

A call for democracy through the propagation of political lyricism.

This work equates the rapper Tupac Shakur with Jean-Paul Marat, a leader of the Montagnards during the French Revolution. The original Death of Marat is depicted in a 1793 painting by Jacques-Louis David.

The Death of Tupac

86 cm x 110 cm

Digital collage printed on matte paper

Yeezus is King, He is a God.

Multiple Kanye’s, multiple characters,

Multi-billion, multi-platinum,

Multiple albums, multiple episodes,

Vying for order, ﬁghting disorder,

Before Kanye kills Kanye.

This piece is based on Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper (1495–1498) at the Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan, Italy.

The Last Utter

122 cm x 69 cm

Digital collage printed on matte paper

At the helm of the metamorphosed Spanish Empire is no longer Margarita Teresa, but a descendant of an enslaved Black woman and her alleged White enslaver. We are in the presence of soon-to-be Queen Bey and her royal company, transﬁguring our perception of who is in power. In the original Las Meninas (1656), the painter Diego Velazquez creates a self-portrait within the portrait of the Spanish royal family.

Las Meninas (II)

80 cm x 92 cm

Digital collage printed on matte paper

Limited Edition prints for each work available: 5 at full size, 20 at half size. For inquiries, click here.