Artists

YaYa Yajie Liang

Press release

YaYa Yajie Liang (b. 1995, Henan, China) has a BA Fine Art China Central Academy of Fine Arts (2018) and a MA Painting at Royal College of Art (2020). She is doing Ph.D. research at Royal College of Art since 2020. 
 
Yaya Yajie Liang's work explores the metamorphosis of the body and the potential of 'becoming animal'. From the legendary banished beast to the interpenetration of biological space, Liang interrogates how men's analogic mapping to and from animals (within imagined, lived, or taxonomic intimacies) helps us to reconsider the prescribed definition of 'humanity'. Taking inspiration from Agential Realism, Liang views painting as a movement that is constantly repeating the 'becoming'. Shifting restlessly between abstract and figurative modes, she uses improvisation to kick-start new paintings, allowing unplanned initial strokes to help dictate the works' subsequent direction.
 
Her recent solo exhibitions included Particles Maze at Lyles & King, New York, NY (2024); Summer Palace, curated by Kat Sapera at Cob Gallery, London, UK (2023). Recent selected group shows include Embodied Forms, Thaddaeus Ropac, London, UK (2024); The Dance, Luce Gallery, Turin, IT (2023); Sweet Spot, BLANK Gallery, Shanghai, CH (2023); Wilderness of Being, HdM Gallery, London, UK (2022); Machines of Desire, Simon Lee Gallery, London, UK (2022); Beacon, Josh Lilly’s Gallery, London, UK (2020), among others. Liang has been shortlisted for The Waverton Art Prize in 2022. She has taken part in residency at Vannucci Artist Residency, Umbria, IT.