If I am fortunate enough to receive the £10,000 bursary from The Dover Prize, I intend to develop a new body of work titled “Fragments of Belonging”, which will explore cultural identity, inherited memory, and material symbolism within the context of Chinese heritage and diasporic experience. This project will consist of mixed-media paintings and small-scale ceramic installations, combining traditional Chinese craft techniques with contemporary visual language.
My practice is rooted in exploring cultural identity through material storytelling, blending traditional Chinese crafts with contemporary visual art. I believe this approach can contribute a valuable, distinctive voice to Darlington’s creative community by introducing narratives of cultural heritage, diaspora, and belonging within a modern context.
I am a visual artist whose practice critically investigates the intersections of cultural identity, inherited memory, and traditional Chinese material symbolism. Through a multidisciplinary approach that combines painting, collage, mixed-media installations, and ceramics, I explore the complexities of cultural belonging and the duality between familial control and individual liberation. My recent projects include “Branch” (2025), a mixed-media painting work incorporating acrylic, ink, collage, and quartz sand, reflecting on the layered symbolism of Sanxingdui relics and ancestral narratives in contemporary identity. Another key project, “Bound Heritage” (2025), utilized banner-like textiles, distorted calligraphy, and traditional materials such as bamboo slips and oracle bone script imagery to critique the Confucian family order and its emotional constraints. These works engage with the ritualistic and restrictive qualities of traditional Chinese kinship systems, raising questions about how cultural inheritance is reconstructed, challenged, or transformed in today’s diasporic and globalised society. Through fragmented visual language and tactile, object-based storytelling, I seek to create intimate and reflective experiences that invite audiences to consider how inherited narratives shape contemporary identity. In addition to studio practice, I have exhibited in several independent spaces and group exhibitions in both China and the UK, including experimental artist-run events and collaborative projects exploring contemporary interpretations of traditional culture.
Yes. I hold a BA degree in Visual Arts from Sichuan Fine Arts Institute in China, with a focus on contemporary mixed-media practices and traditional Chinese material techniques. During my undergraduate studies, I specialised in combining painting, ink, and collage with conceptual research into cultural identity and heritage symbolism. I am currently pursuing my MA in Fine Art at [Your University Name, if applicable], where I continue to develop projects exploring inherited memory, family structures, and cultural re-contextualisation.
Yes. I have independently organised small artist-led projects and group exhibitions during my time in China, including a collaborative showcase exploring reinterpretations of Chinese family objects and rituals through contemporary media. These projects provided opportunities for peer critique, community engagement, and alternative exhibition formats outside of institutional settings.
Yes. My recent work “Branch” received a critical review on an independent contemporary art critique platform based in China, discussing the project’s strengths in exploring cultural inheritance while offering constructive feedback on its engagement with traditional motifs such as Sanxingdui relics.
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