Yang Xu (b. 1996, Shandong, China) graduated with 1st Class Honours in BA Painting Wimbledon College of Arts (2018) and is currently attending MA Painting at Royal College of Art (2018-20).  Xu explores the construction of identity through a contemporary female gaze. Drawing on art history, fashion, fairytale and drag performance Xu pushes beyond the canvas and behind the mask to question what is real and what is fake and what is woman in her fantasy world.

Artist Statement

I am exploring my personal interests, childhood fantasies, fetish and identity through painting, photography and mixed medias. I am looking into history, finding the things that are a part of our nature, like sugar - addictive but we might like to shy away from so to avoid the feeling of shame and guilt - sexuality and body.  I consider our actions are based on the actions that we have seen, under a constructed identity we put masks on and act with free will. This allows me to bring fantasies into reality in my work. 

Rococo was a playful and mysterious episode in the history of painting. From the french revolution onward, the period was seen as void, lavish and corrupt. With its privileging of power and Female stereotype, Rococo is buried under the weight of 20th century moral disciplines. I want to resuscitate it to speak to our contemporary moment.

I attempt to uncover Rococo’s elaborate and extravagant style in paintings through playful brushstrokes. I paint my works layer by layer with smudges and touches. All those different twists are used to feel the creaminess of the oil paint as it slides onto the textile—like applying icing on a cake, they are sickening but delicious. Rococo is such a maligned art form, but it is underpinned by idealisations, hopes and dreams we should have access to.

The emptiness in the mirror around the figure and dark background brings loneliness, tension and a sense of danger. The space is private, but inviting, and aims to engage with the audience. Her face is blurred, or covered by a mask. She could be anyone, or anyone could be her. This is my alter-ego and portrays a ‘self’ as a skin for anyone to put on.

I believe in the power of the universe. I will never get lost more than myself, and sometimes, it would be good to have some fabulousness.

Yang Xu