My work is concerned with a multi-disciplined look at the individual and their in existence everyday life. Through painting, photography, prints, sculpture and video I seek to explore the questions: “Who am I?” and “What am I?” I wish to explore the nature of contemporary culture, the constant stream of doctored images and an idea that we can no longer tell the difference between fact and fiction. I am interested in what is a mask, what is the truth and what is real and what is fake.

In the video piece This is my letter for you, text and language are a focus. Each individual sculptural figure is its own statement and gesture. They are all handmade and unique becoming words themselves and when they are together, their layout becomes formatted text. I am seeking to transform the way audiences look at them, to create not just an encounter with the visual work to but a reading of a  message, in this way I sam to build a bridge between the myself and the audience. The language itself cannot be translated but the message can be presented.

In my performative photographic self-portraits, I create masks on myself with the use of make-up and costume. My interest is in the documentation of everyday life using myself as the model. I wish to use the individual to represent a single unit of a larger group, in this case, the whole world. As one person I want to know how does one present themselves in front of people? What is the individual’s social face? How does one carry themselves and how does an one show who they truly are through their appearance?

In the work Self-portrait with photo-me Wandsworth 03022018, the image is highly influenced by the work of Andy Warhol, I was interested in the individual becoming a ready-made product for consumption and use. The identical repeated image is a mechanical fait accompli, ready to be used be for many possible situations. Whilst the image is of a qualified passport photo but the self-portrait profile is unrecognisable and unusable for purpose.

Short Biography

XU Yang (b.1996) Holds a foundation diploma of CCW foundation of Fine-art painting, studying in Wimbledon College of Arts. 

Education 

2018 - 2020     Royal College of Art, London, MA Painting

2015 - 2018     Wimbledon College of Arts, UAL, London, BA (Hons) Fine Art: Painting                                                     

2014 - 2015     CCW, UAL, London, Foundation Diploma in Art and Design 

Collaboration Project

2017     Generation Exchange in Collaboration with Dr. Susanna Round, Wimbledon Space. 

2017     Imaging Technologies Artist-collaborator with Painting Research at Wimbledon College of Arts, Tate Exchange, Tate Morden, London.

2016     Blood Pressure,The Archive Room, Wimbledon College of Arts, London, United Kingdom. 

2016     What Happens to Us, Wimbledon Space, Wimbledon College of Arts, London, United kingdom. 

2016     Here She Comes, Royal Festival Hall, London (performance in collaboration with Marvin Gaye Chetwynd).

solo Exhibition 

2017     An Empty Room, Deyin Hardware Head Office, ZiBo, ShanDong, China.

2017     She is Me as Myself, Yishu Gallery, ChangZhou, China. 

2016     Contemporary Painting,City Milu Space, ChangZhou, China.

group exhibition 

2018     Clyde & Co Art Award, St Botolph Building, London, United Kingdom.

2018     Beijing Summer Show, NL Gallery, Beijing, China. 

2018     Redefining Artistic Canon: Sharing&Coexistence, China University of Mining and Technology, Beijing, China.

2018     RA Summer Exhibition Shortlist, Royal Academy, London, United Kingdom. 

2018     Neulinge, The Crypt Gallery, London, United Kingdom. 

2018     HuangYan, Chelsea Triangle Space, Chelsea College of arts, London, United Kingdom.

2018     The Flow of Nature, WWF Rag Group Exhibition, London, United Kingdom. 

2018     Wimbledon College of Arts Open Studio, Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom.

2017     Bring Me My Cloak, LVP House, North Acton, London, United Kingdom. 

2017     Xu Yang, Ghost Space, Wimbledon Library, Wimbledon college of art, London, United Kingdom.   

2017     Unicorn, Wimbledon Library Space, London, United Kingdom. 

2017     The Currents of Identity, The Crypt Gallery, London, United Kingdom. Curated by Xu Yang, Co- curate with Dr. Annie Xu.

2017     Infinite Possibility, Espacio Gallery, Bethnal Green Rd, London, United Kingdom.

2017     To be continued… , North China University of Science and Technology, Hebei Province, China. Curated by Dr. Annie Xu.

2017     Whitechapel Gallery First Thursday University Competition, The Black&White Building, Rivington Street, London, United Kingdom.                            

2017     Remarquable, Anaglifos Art Gallery, Carrer d’en Monec, Barcelona, Spain.

2017     Materiality in Painting, 26 Spaces, Wimbledon College of Arts, Wimbledon, London.      

2017     Olympus UAL Photography Award, Art Bermondsey Project Space, London, United Kingdom. 

2017     One Year Anniversary Art Fair, Deptford Does Art, The Brookmill, London, United Kingdom. 

2016     Exhibit Here’s Art Maze,Oxo Tower Wharf, Bargehouse, London,   United Kingdom. 

2016     Bridge–Crossing & Conversation, Totem Il Canale Gallery, Venice, Italy. 

2016     Bad Art is a Journey, 1933 Ancient Slaughterhouse, ShangHai, China.

2016     Line of Edge, Art in Gallery, Tokyo, Japan. 

2016     Capsticks Exhibition, Selected from WCA Students, London, United Kingdom.

2016     Moment, Coningsby Gallery, London, United Kingdom.