ConscioUS Collaborator: Meet Emma Li
Welcome to our NEW quarterly newsletter,
ConscioUS Collaborator
featuring the incredibly creative people we work in community with to bring ethical accessorizing to the fashion world
We felt drawn to featuring Emma in the first series of our quarterly newsletter, because her bold and sophisticated presence is equally matched by her sense of joy, purpose and belonging—qualities we hope to embody and lift up in the creative community around us.
Talented, articulate, and visionary, Emma Li, aka Tiger Stepmom, is an LA-based illustrator and activist, whose uniquely striking artwork is featured in media for resistance and community-based organizations across the country.
Li’s illustrations are at once fierce and joyful and evoke a sense of immediacy—a call to action that is both loud and quiet, like the sharp and soft lines she draws. Deeply passionate about transformative justice and inspired by the artwork of past generations’ liberation struggles, Li is a shining example of her generation’s conviction that we can build a better future if we dare to dream it.
CH: My first impression of your work is a cross-section of fierceness and joy. Can you elaborate on what the role of joy means for you within activism/resistance?
EL: I think the role of joy is essential to resistance work. Finding pleasure in being among community and envisioning new systems of caring for each other is what motivates our desire to generate positive change. Without being able to feel the joy generated by hope and solidarity, it’s easy to develop an isolated, nihilistic perspective of the world that is not conducive to action.
CH: What specifically about your drawings do you see as helping to contribute to this collective visualization? What is your intention (or do you have an intention?) when you approach an illustration?
EL: I try to visualize people actively engaging in struggle against policing and imperialism, and just being in harmony with nature and each other in a future where these systems have been eradicated. I want to envision a future without the burden of carceral thinking limiting our collective imagination and ask how we can take care of each other and find meaning and joy in our lives without having to struggle to survive. I want to stir an earnest sense of duty and mutual care for each other in my illustrations and guide the viewer to realize that our liberation will always be collective.
CH: What is your background as an artist? You’re clearly very studied and informed about political/resistance history. When did you start drawing and did you study it formally? Is there a relationship between art and resistance for you?
EL: I began organizing and creating movement art at about the same time about five years ago and have come to really appreciate how cathartic and generative this art is for myself, my collaborators, and community. I had the opportunity to work at the Freedom Archives a few summers ago while also working on current anti-policing work with the Ella Baker Center and was incredibly moved by all the liberation art in their collection. That experience showed me how past struggles inform our present and future - that kind of liberatory political imagery is very powerful and creates a sense of solidarity across generations. Through my art, I’ve also been able to connect with amazing organizers and advocates I really look up to and work together on projects that feel truly meaningful.
Art holds an essential role in organizing and educating people into action and generating cultural change. [There’s even scientific evidence that art can influence people’s mindsets.] It is very fulfilling to be able to channel feelings of rage, grief, energy, and hope through art for campaigns that I feel are building the liberated future I try to depict.
“I think the role of joy is essential to resistance work. Finding pleasure in being among community and envisioning new systems of caring for each other is what motivates our desire to generate positive change.”
CH: What specifically about your drawings do you see as helping to contribute to this collective visualization? What is your intention (or do you have an intention?) when you approach an illustration?
EL: I try to visualize people actively engaging in struggle against policing and imperialism, and just being in harmony with nature and each other in a future where these systems have been eradicated. I want to envision a future without the burden of carceral thinking limiting our collective imagination and ask how we can take care of each other and find meaning and joy in our lives without having to struggle to survive. I want to stir an earnest sense of duty and mutual care for each other in my illustrations and guide the viewer to realize that our liberation will always be collective.
“I want to stir an earnest sense
of duty and mutual care for each other in my illustrations,
and guide the viewer to realize that our liberation will always be collective.”
CH: In addition to being very talented and intelligent, you’re also very stylish! I loved your nail video. :) Does your own sense of style mean something to you in context of the work that you do? What is currently inspiring you right now? What colors are feeling at the moment? And what are your favorite accessories?
EL: I am always trying to illustrate things that are beautiful to me. I admit I'm easily distracted by never ending digital trend cycles (be it art or clothing styles), so figuring out what textures, colors and shapes form a visual/style aesthetic that feels original and true to myself has been a fun, introspective journey that definitely isn’t finished yet. My current favorite accessories are my jaguar velvet scarf from Jil Dever as a headband paired with my big chunky silver circle necklace and belt. In my illustrations, I have been really drawn to muted shades of blues or reds paired with cream and yellow. I love looking through new art and fashion styles - I think creatives feed off each other for joy, inspiration, and purpose!
Emma’s illustrations are featured in this newsletter and story.
Visit Emma at : https://www.tigerstepmom.com/
Shop Emma’s favorite scarf head wrap: The Bryant in jaguar velvet.
The views expressed here are those of the individual we have interviewed. Jil Dever kindly respects every individual’s right to their views and beliefs.