Was born in Nanjing, China.

Currently studying @ University of

Calgary, Canada.
Major in Bsc, Psychology

Studied A level Business, Physics and

Mathematics @ Jinling High School,
Nanjing, China, graduated in 2016

Own website: https://ruiiluu.com

/RUI LU

PORTFOLIO
For 2019 Admission
Project 1:
PREDESTINATION My sketch:
The whole project is my own abstract experiment about symbols and
meanings.
Between each image and paired re-produced symbol is unique and reflecting
in two different states: gathering or leaving.
The image is used to explain the symbol and vice versa, the symbol is to
emphasis the feeling behind the image, forming the bonding. The correspond
color from the symbol helps audience understand more easily.
No matter which part you look first, within the duo, the second one confirms
the feeling as clues which are all set in the first one. That creates a harmony
among these two pictures, defines as the predestination for our feelings, as
the meaning we gave to them.

These images were basically shoot from a set of statues, but I chose to
capture partially, more focus on the limb, could better reflecting the union
that I would like to show and compare with each other.

PREDESTINATION: ‘everything happened has already determines’

PREDESTINATION My sketch:
Project 2: City farm

I can always read a lot news about the large quantities of rubbish human produced and dumped through various medias and by the chance after I heard from a friend talked about this landfill, I decided to explore the
by myself. Even sometimes I drove by the places, it is really hard to tell it’s a place that collecting waste from the outside. I was literally shocked by the view, few minutes after entering the main gates, if I didn’t
know this previously, there is no way to tell it’s not farm. I saw birds, trucks and hills not far away from me, but walk closer and see closer, you saw bunches of garages, different kinds of, piled up like mountains.
Rather than direct showing the cruel ‘Ugly Truth’ what the landfill tries to hide from public, I chose a softer way which I insist and believe it could give audience a more strong feeling and easier to be touched. It was
a cloudy day, with the nature light, the whole color base for the sky is grey make the whole scenes even more dreary.
Only 20 minutes drive from the center of Calgary, it is one of the biggest landfill in this city. According to my own research, the potential risks in landfill vary from hazardous wastes to environmental damages, our
human need to discuss how we live today, and it does truly matters. Living in such modern city, we always chose not to see the consequences of problems. When I was shooting these series of photos, I was stopped
by the officers in this facility, even I have already consulted the permit from guards. Fortunately I still got chances to keep these images.
 My sketch:
Project 3:
The New
Era
Jungle

We are now living in an environment full of surveillance cameras, BBC news reported as ‘china
has building what it calls ‘the world’s biggest surveillance camera network’. Report shows there
are approximately 170 million CCTV have already been installed in this country, and there are
going to be more and more, which is still under constructing. Furthermore, nowadays most of
the cameras have been designed as artificial intelligence which means they have the ability to
identify the person they are watching with the facial recognition. Although government said
those data from surveillance cameras will only be extracted when people needed, such as street
robbery and street violation. But it still lead to my big concern, is it worth to pay and sacrifice
the privacy in order to exchange the convenience? Moreover, I’m still questioning about the
necessities that to rise public aware about such tradeoff in their surroundings that will
influence themselves in lot of ways.
I first noticed this phenomenon back to the start of 2017, at that time I just went back from
Canada. I realized the situation is quite different there, CCTV cameras are not heavily installed
in the street, few in the public area. I was confused with this idea which in my growing
environment seemingly we have all acquiesce with the existence of the highly cover surveillance
cameras.
This poster I made includes 50 surveillance cameras (all circled with red marker) I found when
I walk outside, and look closer you may even realized, within 10 meters, 3 CCTV cameras
present.
Project 4: PUPA
The undergoing transformation community
It’s a very old community in Nanjing. I came here a lot when I was a kid.
Why name as ‘PUPA’, after I left my hometown, every time I came back
I felt the city is changing and some of the thing I familiar were gone too
soon. It’s really hard to realize the changes when you are living inside,
but after you left and returned, seemingly the changes are so oblivious.
And I know the city will keep changing with no doubts.
In Part I, I chose to shoot the people here. Not like during daytime,
they have their chances to be alone or entertain with friends, face to the
true moments, happiness, sandiness or loneness.
As the whole city is under construction, with the slogan ‘Renovation of
the city appearance’ all the old community will soon be replaced by the
modern and fancy, same-looking apartments, some of the shops here
will be forced to move as some people think they influence the city
appearance. I don’t mean I try to deny the positive side of unifying,
however, maybe I was born with getting touch with them, such
environment and neighborhoods, thinking about the streets without
them, there will always remind of me a great loss in warm hospitality
among people.

I. THE PEOPLE
II. THE HOME
I. THE PEOPLE
II. THE HOME
Not only the environment or neighborhoods nearby are changing, try to look up , you can also find something else are kept as the
evidences. These‘ spider webs’ is popular and can be seen everywhere in different communities back to 70s and 80s China. With the
highly developing in China, nowadays this scene is barely seen in those new communities . I considered these cables nowadays as
the ‘live documentary’, so instead of traditionally shooting the houses I focus more on these wires. These photos are aim to
document and record, maybe one day it will be replaced and gone, but photos can remind us and recreate what was like.
Sometimes, isn’t it a little bit romantic to look back?
 As green has been labelled as the
Project 5 nature symbolization, Consequently,
slogans in the public like ‘Be green’
start to relate with some healthy
concepts. The repeating
advertisements, flies in our life
potentially persuade and influence
individual’ choices. With these
psychological tactics, the original

estyl e concepts have been distorted and

en L i f start to mislead the consumers.

This series is to mock these

se Gre misleading information among our

Ch o o lives. Related with something

unhealthy categories we already
defined from our cognitions –
junkie foods, liquors or cigarettes,
my aim is to match and fuzzy these
two materials together.
These series of photo is base on my
own installation creations, use green
acrylic spray, however this is still a
in-progress work. My next step is to
add people interaction into it, with
more vivid and direct feelings.
 I always have a fetish towards
plants, to capture the blossoms, and
also to explore their freedom
towards death. The nature rules
applied to all of us, is just the
period happens too fast on blooms
sometimes we can’t even realize
until petals withered. That’s why I
want to put the moments of young
from them combined with our
body. At the same time, when I
photo flowers I always want to
mislead and trick eyes by
manipulating the light, to create a
totally opposite feelings, or even to
took blossom along with withered
at the same time. The changes in
light create a whole different vibes.
But I prefer to keep the original
Project 6: shape and color of their own with
the post production, emphasize on
Fresh and flesh the contrast, highlight and shadow.
The lily is my favorite shoot, I try
to show the lush and sensual senses
and in contrast, with the tendencies
of yellowish-brown, actually is
setting a cue to remind of death
My sketch:
 Shanghai, nowadays, considered as one of the largest and most modern city in China, still keeps its
Project 7: original appearances in someway. I’m not interested in capturing fancy buildings surround by, in
contrast, I want to show others the struggles beneath, the conflicts between reality and its image which
The great Shanghai created to the public, the normal life among ordinary people.

25.7.2018, BansongYuan Rd, Shanghai 25.7.2018, Shanghai Railway Station, Shanghai 25.7.2018, Rehe South Rd, Shanghai

The first photo was showing a very traditional way for people to
make money by selling the recycle garage to some hawkers in local.
The truck stopped outside a number of old residence units to collect.
Besides of that, in this photo the part I love the most, is the electric
bikes and scooter people riding and passing by in this scene.
The dramatic population increase in China arises a lot potential
problems at the same time, traffic is one of them. People seemingly
addict to use electric bike and scooter in China, which make senses,
as the it’s easy to avoid all the traffic in rush hours. Recently, in
order to make people living more convenient, sharing bikes become
a new concept to the public and to soon be accepted which lead to
the new trouble. How to deal with the excessive bikes in this street
and how to manage them? It is a big issues Chinese cities is dealing
right now.
The second photo is taken in Shanghai oldest railway station, built in
1904. Even this station reconstructed in 2010, it still keep its inside
the same way, but changes is not only the appearance of this station
but also among the people. Tend to busy with their phones, and
individuals even create a name for these groups of people in China,
‘looking down group’.
The third photo is captured actually through a window from a very
old building in the Bund. Thousands of people gaze at those fancy
and specular buildings in the Bund everyday, but how about these
view that are hiding. The shed covered in this duplex is very
common in 80s China.
I always love to keep an eye to collect all those pieces in the city we
are living in and when the moment I decided to take these photos, it
has already made them become the past.
However, I don’ t mean to remind people of the past when I want to
shoot it, I want to tell others the truth. The places we used to
coexist.
Project 8: This is a story about setting
one butterfly specimen free to
Set life free nature, however, it doesn’t
work well. Once I detached it
from the frame, it soon broke
into pieces, and I can only find
the wing in the grass.
‘Set life free’ is very popular
among some Chinese who
want to make amends for their
sin. Based on the reports I
read, it used to be a way to
rescue some variable species
but nowadays it becomes more
and more off the track. People
start to set some species that
were not suppose to send back
to the nearby nature, or even
more serious, the species could
consequently cause threat to
the local ecosystem. So I’m
highly questioning the real
motivation behind. Is it really a
proper way to make amend for
themselves or it has became a
hilarious excuse for them to
forgive themselves with this
pretended human beings ‘great
mercy’?
 My sketch:
OTHER WORKS:
The evidence of kidnapping:

Materials: Oil
painting on
canvas 10x 10
cm,
Bubble cushion
packaging, Materials:
tape Plastic bag, egg