Mickey
(2009)
Medium
porcelain
Measurements
38.5 × 43.2 × 30.0 cm
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Purchased with funds donated by Connie Kimberley and Craig Kimberley OAM, 2023
© Li Lihong
Gallery location
Asian Art - Chinese Gallery
Level 1, NGV International
About this work
Mickey references the Disney character Mickey Mouse, who was first introduced to China during the 1930s and rapidly became popular icon of internationalisation. Due to deteriorating US–China relations during the 1950s, Mickey Mouse left China and did not return until 1986, when his cartoons appeared on China Central Television. This was followed in 2009 by the approval of a Disneyland resort development and then the opening of Shanghai Disneyland in 2016.
This work features Mickey’s head and ears covered with reflective silver glaze, and decorated with blue and white waves that reach to the sky to suggest a harmonious, yin and yang balance between heaven and earth.