Camille Li

Camille Li is a multidisciplinary designer based in Shenzhen, China and the New York

City area – as well as a part-time professional astrology consultant. Her areas of

interest and practice include crocheting, macrame braiding, ruching, machine knitting,

hand knitting, and modern astrology. Growing up in three cities allowed her to encounter

people from all different cultural backgrounds and disciplines. Most of her collections

are inspired by the stories that she collected during the astrological consultations.

Deeply influenced by the Western and Oriental ideology, her storytelling often raises

ethical questions through various textile-based approaches. She is interested in

exploring topics that are all around us, but what we are afraid to discuss.

Sashimi has become a tradition in a few Japanese villages, where the fishermen cut off

the flesh and the skin of the seafood, and transport them to the local restaurants. While

the customers are waiting for the food to be served, the leftover bones and nerves of

the seafood are still supporting the seafood to live under the water. Personally, this

culinary ceremony is cruel and I would like to raise the question that “Should we keep

this as a tradition still or should we stop celebrating the Sashimi?” The killing of the

animals also reminded me of the movie called The Cove, which is a documentary that

was filmed in Japan, to record the brutal killing of the dolphins, as well as the revenge

coming from the dolphins. In the end, the sea creatures and human beings begin killing

each other. It is necessary for us, as mankind, to stop and think for a second, of what

we are doing currently. I am also putting my own response through the creation of this

spring/summer collection, through the patterns, the prints, and the ruching technique

(Sewing strands of elastic behind the fabric) to showcase the brutal killing and the pain

that the creatures are feeling.