Yijia Zhang
My work mainly explores the importance of colour to drawing, and shows the effect of colour on drawing in the form of contrasting between black-and-white and colour. I have always been attracted to my country's ancient culture, so in my practice I try to incorporate some interesting elements of Chinese culture into my works.
In my culture, everything begins with Yin and Yang. If Yin and Yang are concrete, they are a circle composed of one black half and one white half. The contrast between Yin and Yang was my first source of inspiration. Because of people's interest in colour, I use the contrast between black-and-white and colour as the basic form of creation.
In the creative process, I chose three different groups of subjects to portray: plants, characters and buildings. I tell my own story from three different angles, and at the same time incorporate some traditional Chinese elements into these three subjects. Plants are inspired by the plants my mother planted in the garden, and the character-themed works commemorate my brother who accidentally miscarried when my mom was pregnant. In addition, it includes my own constellation. I want to try to connect me and my brother through my constellation. The last subject is a famous building from my hometown. All I wanted is to tell my own story to the audience through my works.
Fake Mirror, 2020
Water color, fine liner
300mm x 400mm