AnnLi Tico is a London based artist and a California native who works within sculpture, painting, and installation. Her work dwells on environment, location, and the emotions that are tied to the places we interact with. These include feelings of sentimentality, remorse, loneliness, stagnation, and wonder. Her practice serves as a tool for processing changes in the locations that have been significant to her: whether that be her rapidly gentrifying Silicon Valley hometown, the natural beauty surrounding the cities of Santa Barbara and Los Angeles, and the wildfires that occurred while living there, and the ongoing immigration raids that have fragmented communities and instilled fear throughout the United States. A recurring motif in her practice is fire, playing upon the notions it conjures: destruction, inner turmoil, anger, desire, and passion. It spreads rapidly and creates change in moments, while also burning for days on end despite our best efforts to quell it. This motif relates to her work in relation to climate disaster, complicated emotions towards one’s changing relationship to home, and the overwhelming feelings brought about by political unrest.
Her practice spans multiple mediums, paying attention to craft alongside repetitive motions and details. The focus on craft allows for meditation during creation, with the time and physical effort dedicated acting as a tribute or an honoring of various locations, feelings, and moments in her life. She gravitates towards mediums and methods that feel most in tune with the subject matter being portrayed, letting the materials surprise her during the creation process, and working with the goal of shaping these materials in a way that feels familiar, inviting, and even playful towards viewers.
She graduated with degrees in Economics and Art from the University of California Santa Barbara in 2021, and is currently pursuing an MA in Sculpture at the Royal College of Art in London.
Her practice spans multiple mediums, paying attention to craft alongside repetitive motions and details. The focus on craft allows for meditation during creation, with the time and physical effort dedicated acting as a tribute or an honoring of various locations, feelings, and moments in her life. She gravitates towards mediums and methods that feel most in tune with the subject matter being portrayed, letting the materials surprise her during the creation process, and working with the goal of shaping these materials in a way that feels familiar, inviting, and even playful towards viewers.
She graduated with degrees in Economics and Art from the University of California Santa Barbara in 2021, and is currently pursuing an MA in Sculpture at the Royal College of Art in London.