King of Spades / Sun Wukong ‘The Monkey King’ – 2024-25
glass, lead, glass enamels, silver stain, putty, New Guinea Rosewood light box
Sun Wukong ‘The Monkey King’ embodies righteousness and power, enriched with a vibrant oriental style, inspired by the captivating visual effects and artistic allure of Chinese Opera characters that have long inspired Chinese painters across dynasties – Yin Lu
This stained glass panel is a collaboration between two artists, Natalia Elkina and Yin Lu, that was completed in the Year of the Wood Dragon.
The characters illustrated in this stained glass each carry a symbolic importance. The imaginative fusion of Dragon and the Peking Opera character Sun Wukong, the Monkey King, expressing the essence of strength and might as the central theme of the narrative. The dragon stands as a powerful cultural symbol in traditional Chinese culture.
The unique combination of ancient Chinese symbolism and traditional European stained glass craft showcases how two contrasting cultures can merge into a harmonious union.
Although technically challenging it became a very exciting project to work on. Every part of the original sketch had to be thoughtfully converted into the cartoon – a design that served as a full size template for the future stained glass panel. The colours used in the artwork were expertly matched with existing pallets of coloured glass. Some had to be sourced from traditional and highly respected glass blowers in the US and Germany. Classical techniques of grisaille glass painting and silver staining were used in order to highlight the features of the original sketch. Intensely detailed parts of the design could only be done using the thinnest lead size available with only minimal housing provided for pieces of glass. As a result each tiny piece of glass had to be cut and slowly worked to a very precise shape. The whole process of creating the stained glass panel took over 300 hours of problem solving and hard labour.
Nine of Hearts / the Peaches of Immortality – 2023
glass, lead, enamel paint, putty
It is a symbol of long life and immortality. Anyone who eats the fruit will become immortal, and their body will become both light and strong – Yin Lu
Chinese mythology is reimagined in traditional stained glass technique. The subject of eternal life is frequently present in both Asian and European cultures.
I was fascinated by possibility to explore Chinese symbolism in the medium of stained glass. In the western cultures it is common to see legends and biblical stories displayed in stained glass windows. However, the medium didn’t exist in the far east. It’s wonderful to see how leaded glass, which was traditionally used in religious settings, can now be stretched and moulded into interesting narratives, merging cultures and telling different stories.
