10 Questions with Yuyang (Lily) Wei
Al-Tiba9 Art Magazine ISSUE18 | Featured Artist
Yuyang (Lily) Wei is a New Zealand-Chinese artist specialising in watercolour, oil paint as well as ceramics. Her works explore and celebrate identity in Third Culture individuals. Yuyang has exhibited internationally, including in New Zealand, Canada and London. She is currently pursuing a Masters in Painting at the Royal College of Art, London.
Yuyang (Lily) Wei - Portrait
ARTIST STATEMENT
Yuyang (Lily) Wei is a Chinese-New Zealander artist currently living and working in London. Drawing on her own experiences growing up between New Zealand and China, a topic that concerns Yuyang's artworks is the identity crisis of Third-Culture Kids. Cross-cultural children can find themselves in a way of living neither fully like those in the local community nor with relatives back in the home culture, harbouring a growing disconnection from both origin and host culture. Paintings in this section depict Yuyang's personal feelings of being part of a diaspora.
She Waited for the Conversation to End with Great Tenderness, Oil on Canvas, 120x91 cm, 2025 © Yuyang (Lily) Wei
AL-TIBA9 ART MAGAZINE ISSUE18
INTERVIEW
Please share a bit about your journey as an artist. What first drew you to painting and ceramics?
In terms of creating work, I have always been an intuitive drawer. One of the earliest memories I could conjure up would be sitting on the floor trying to make a line drawing of Bambi and Thumper as accurately as a 5-year-old could. Painting came later during my high-school years, being influenced by delicate watercolour illustrations I've seen online done usually in the manga style, a far cry from the peculiar oil paintings I make today. As brush replaced pencil, it was also quickly joined by clay during my undergraduate course at Chelsea College of Art, UAL. This was due to the availability of ceramic workshops being so close to our studios, as well as the cool, inviting impression that fresh clay left on my hands.
Portrait of Three Lions in front of Liberty London, Oil on Canvas, 125 x 145 cm, 2024 © Yuyang (Lily) Wei
You have lived between New Zealand, China, and now London. How do these different environments influence your practice?
All three environments have contributed greatly to my current practice. Not only being the place in which I had first experimented with painting, but New Zealand artists also constantly influenced me with their passion for the great outdoors, as well as for figurative art. Occasionally, moving my set up outside or on hikes and painting plein-air has been a habit grown in Aotearoa, and my open-air experiences feed back into work done in the studios. This manifests itself as better time management, brush stroke precision, as well as an eye for easy-going colour palettes. Subsequently, I was lucky enough to receive a cram-school-like education in traditional drawing during my youth in China. This difficult but ultimately rewarding experience reflects within my current work in technical ways, whether that be ease in sketching up an initial draft or managing the realistic parts of the painting. Lastly, London is where all my skills, as well as past experiences, meld together and grow as I meet a wider, more diverse set of contemporaries at both my Bachelor's as well as currently studying painting at the RCA. Inspiration for a great number of my paintings was also taken from working as ground staff for different art galleries throughout my years here at the global art capital.
You are pursuing a Masters in Painting at the Royal College of Art. How has this experience influenced your artistic development?
At the RCA, I am fortunate to be able to bounce ideas off a wide cohort of very talented people from all walks of life and cultures, learning more about the art world everyday as well. From technical help such as how to properly measure and stretch canvas to gaining unlimited inspiration just by walking up and down the aisles of the painting building, studying at the Royal College of Art was truly one of the most unique experiences of my life and I can only wish it lasted longer than the solo year we are given. Nevertheless, being in the same studio as 150 hardworking artists has reset my passion for the act of painting. I've loved making myself at home in a space that changes its 'exhibitions' daily.
Keeping Off the Flies, Oil on Canvas, 100 x 61 cm, 2025 © Yuyang (Lily) Wei
Flavours of Exile, Oil on Canvas, 81 x 65 cm, 2025 © Yuyang (Lily) Wei
Your work explores the identity of Third-Culture individuals. How did your personal experiences shape your artistic approach?
Growing up, oscillating between countries has had a profound effect on the subject matter in which I paint. Currently, I am inspired most by Asian artefacts found in overseas museums: the British Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Ashmolean as well and the Rijksmuseum, which are just some that I frequent for a creative spark. Spurred on not only by the topic of repatriation but also by a fascination with the journey which each vessel has gone through to be where they are now—- whether by force or trade. I find myself seeing parallels between these artefacts in comparison to third culture individuals and seek to depict them in my own way on canvas.
Your practice spans watercolour, oil painting, and ceramics. How do you decide which medium best conveys a particular idea or emotion?
Currently, the medium in which I favour the most is oil painting. This is not only due to its traditional associations and rich history, but also how flexible oil-binded pigments are, being easy to transport when painting at a huge scale. However, I do covet watercolours/gouache for their graceful as well as delicate finish and still use water-based paints for other occasions such as plein-air. Ceramics on the other hand, I will make if I believe the artwork is best represented as a 3D object in space.
What challenges do you face when translating complex cultural experiences into visual form?
Not all paintings begin smoothly. More often than not, I create pagefuls of repeated motifs, draw drafts and write down keywords until a favourable thumbnail appears, which is then refined. Since my paintings are tied strongly to my emotions as they currently happen, the challenge actually lies in composing an image that seems authentic to how I feel inthe given moment. I add, subtract, distort or saturate figures and shapes until they are tweaked to my liking, keeping in mind the emotional message I had wanted to convey at the start and trying not to stray far. The cultural aspect is usually fulfilled just by being influenced by a significant event in my own life, as well as the estranged museum object that inspired this painting.
Portrait of a Pair of Cat Nightlights, Oil on Canvas, 216x138 cm, 2023 © Yuyang (Lily) Wei
Study of Tapirs, Oil on Canvas, 210 x 135 cm, 2023 © Yuyang (Lily) Wei
Your paintings reflect feelings of disconnection from your origin and host cultures. Have you found that art helps bridge these gaps, either personally or through audiences' engagement with your work?
Fabulous question. The answer is uncertain for me at this moment. Through the process of making a piece of artwork, I am able to gradually understand both myself and the subjects in which I paint in better detail. Receiving feedback as well for me, can almost be like a therapy session. Unrelated to any specific culture, thoughts and ideas are echoed back to me from the audience, often allowing me to understand my motive behind creating the work better.
What role does memory play in your work, particularly in navigating themes of diaspora and belonging?
Memory, or the lack thereof, is everything in my work; most of my compositions try to convey elevated emotions I have personally felt in the past, either the distress of being constantly in flight and in-between traditions or the elation of being a multicultural identity. Like dreaming, I view the creation of an artwork as conjuring up broad sections of memory and exploring how they play out in paint form.
Can you tell us about a particular artwork or series that is especially meaningful to you? What story does it tell?
Of course, a significant piece that has just been completed would be the painting "She Waited for the Conversation to End with Great Tenderness". "She Waited..." Was first inspired by an antique ceramic deer, "Figure of a Reclining Hind", and her counterpart, "Figure of a Reclining Stag", on the ground floor of the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. I was in awe, captivated by how delicate and lifelike the animal was. The painting was built up in multiple layers, with a cold green as the base colour, which was then overlaid partially with red to create a warm glow in the wallpaper. The patterns on the wallpaper were taken from Pitzhanger Manor and Gallery, from which I have been working as Front of House since 2023. Certain areas of the artwork leave its underpainting exposed, playing around with negative space. I have also scratched into the paint layers with a pair of blunt scissors in order to add a dimension of texture to the piece. In terms of composition, choices were made for the characters to be intentionally uncanny, with the centre figure cowering away from an accusing hand to the creature on the left with its mouth open and neck stretched, seemingly in some type of protest, song, or scream.
Portrait of Christie's Rabbit, Oil on Canvas, 250x130 cm, 2023 © Yuyang (Lily) Wei
Lastly, what are you currently working on, and what directions do you see your practice taking in the future?
As studio life continues at the RCA, I am currently finishing up the artworks that were previously started, and I am thinking carefully about my degree-show piece, which is due to be exhibited upon graduation in late June of this year. Overall, I would like to treat my last term at school as an opportunity to experiment wildly. Finally, I want to thank Al-Tiba9 Magazine for the generous feature. I look forward to continuing my career as an overseas artist in London and very much hope to be able to connect with more people using what I create.
