Lulu Ngie (倪鷺露) delights in studying the human psyche as expressed through a person's body language: how we stand, sit, lie and move, however subtly, reveals what we think and feel. When experiencing uncomfortable emotions such as acute embarrassment, anxiety or fear, we often try to protect ourselves by seeking distractions or rationalising our feelings. Sometimes we try to laugh it off. These and other coping mechanisms are almost instinctive. Just as the physical body can heal itself after suffering an injury, the mind, too, has the ability to recover its equanimity after a trauma. The desire to protect ourselves is strong in all living beings who seek self-preservation. Through her works, done mostly in ink on paper, Lulu shares her fascination in this often unnoticed but powerful part of our mental world.

Lulu Ngie, graduated in painting from Hong Kong Art School/RMIT program. Ngie’s works have been exhibited in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Taipei, Jakarta, and Los Angeles. They have been collected by M+ Museum in Hong Kong and Luxelakes·A4 Art Museum in Sichuan, China.

This work "Looking for some protective cover" was created in the first year of the outbreak of COVID-19, when people were grappling with the fear and anxiety sparked by the new virus. Extreme insecurity drives them to find a way to protect themselves. Desperate for a life-saving cure, the characters in the painting seek protection in a capsule-like cover.