Not my first rodeo is a linocut triptych based on the old Chinese proverb ‘he who rides the tiger is afraid to dismount’ used to describe a risky situation where it is safer for someone to continue rather than stop. The proverb was translated into the popular Western sport of rodeo to comment on the recurring human exploitation of nature. In particular, how we engage in or support unsustainable activities to showcase our status and material wealth. This is reflected in the showy performance of rodeo which disregards its harmful impact on the animals for entertainment and accolades. Evidently, corporations and people are finding it safer or in their best interest to continue ‘riding the tiger’ on their comfortable, yet self-destructive path. By using linocut, she continues the historical role of relief printmaking as a medium of social and political critique.
Ruth Cho is an emerging printmaker/ artist based in Meanjin who explores themes of cultural identity and hybridity in her art practice. Her practice fuses elements from Western and East-Asian culture to broaden our cultural mindset and comment on prevalent issues in society. Animals are a frequent motif in Cho’s works, used for their cultural significance and to reflect on humanity’s relationship to the natural world. She works predominantly with relief printmaking techniques, utilising its unique characteristics and graphic nature to convey her subject matter. Through the printed image, she examines the complexities of living with a cross-cultural background and the challenges it poses in the socio-political sphere. Ideally, she aims to find common ground and promote harmony between cultures in an increasingly diversified world where boundaries are becoming obsolete.
Image: Ruth CHO / Not my first rodeo 2022 / digital image / dimensions variable / © Ruth Cho
