Week—9 Re-select artists
Due to budget and feasibility considerations, I have re-selected some student works from art schools and emerging Chinese artists.
Family section：
1.Artist; San Zhang, Spanish-Chinese
Multidisciplinary artist with a background in painting, illustration and
film-making with experience in independent curating and gallery
collaboration.
Contemporary Art Practice MA, University of Edinburgh
September 2024- September 2025
This work is part of a series of her works, including images, paintings, installations, prints, etc., displayed in 2023
Work（1）”Tying the knot”
The artist said, ‘This is my undergraduate graduation exhibition. During the exhibition, I sewed a doll as my stand-in to wear a wedding dress. My family does not accept me as a queer person and has rejected my previous partner. Although we are living in a foreign environment, they still place these traditional expectations on me.’ The artist’s family traditions are still what most Chinese families expect. Women should get married and have children at marriageable age. Therefore, the artist’s creation of this work also reflects her fear of marriage. and hopes that this fake doll can go to the wedding in her place, embodying a rebellious spirit.
Performance art video：https://youtu.be/izJTLhl2VFA?si=FODONXsO9ryuHF6l
sologamy wedding performance and exhibition, documented on digital video, 11 minutes 19 seconds.
Work（2）”One baby in each arm” Felt and mixed media, embroidery
This work is the artist’s fear of motherhood and pregnancy and childbirth. The artist said, ‘My mother and grandmother would tell me, “Someday we want to hold one of your children in each of our hands.” So I made four babies, and they became more and more distorted and strange.’
Work（3）’ All you have given me are scars’ mix media
This is mixed media embroidery, and the artist wanted to use some textile materials because they are traditionally used by female artists to express the healing of trauma.
Work（4）Left： “You watched me as I drowned, and I thought I was going to die, but for a moment, I felt alive, and everything was so beautiful, though you were still pitiful and scary”， The artist says it was inspired by a real-life scene about being objectified as a female and having one’s privacy invaded by the male gaze.
Right： “You made me hate my body, so I painted it, and I ate the flowers you gave me, I’m planning on disgesting them into joy.” The artist explained that this is a strange action from a watched perspective, intended to oppose the female image expected under patriarchy.
Work（5）：“Estoy hasta el coño” Waterless lithography Print
This is a Lithography Print, ‘Estoy hasta el coño’, which is a Spanish slang phrase meaning ‘I’m fed up’. Coño also means vagina, and the work expresses the anger of women.
Work（6）： “Death roots and new blossoms”
vare, hair, felt, and test tubes sculpture trio
This is a piece of installation art. It is three ceramic shelves, and the artist has left the hair she cut from her friends or some classmates inside this shelf, wanting to turn some dead memories or some unpleasant things into something happier. Let it become a seed, then sprout, and it can become a happier thing. Because in society, hair on a woman’s body is considered an offensive thing, or something that lacks charm, the artist wanted to use the hair and fur on the human body to make something beautiful, just like some of the artist’s current works.
Work（7）：” Birth love death, vagina pussy cunt” Oil and acrylic on canvas, beads and sequins
This work depicts the female vagina, symbolising the birth of life, where love and death take place.
Work(8): ”Sitong Bridge”
Because this series of works was created during the pandemic, the entire series is about resistance against traditions and society that restrict Chinese women. The protest at Sitong Bridge is also a resistance to freedom and people’s dignity, so I made this work to echo it.
Work(9): ”Pussy plate”
This work is a plate made by the artist in the shape of a female vagina. There are some beads on it that you can touch. Through these colourful colours and patterns, an ideal world for women is created. It is not something that people avoid mentioning but is full of hope, colour and beautiful memories.
2.
Artist: Chen Sijia, China
Education: Fuzhou University, Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Design
University of Edinburgh, Master’s degree in Contemporary Art Practice
Art form: Installation, sculpture
Art style and creative themes
My work focuses mainly on feminism, exploring topics such as power and identity and expressing them through satire or criticism. At the same time, my work often encourages audience interaction, with the audience interaction becoming part of the work, expressing some serious topics in a relaxed and interesting way.
”Matree, Patree”,2025, Pipe cleaner, metal bar
Traditional Chinese family structures are usually centred on male lineage, reinforcing patriarchal succession. This work criticises how conventional patriarchal family succession is passed down and invites the audience to intervene and subvert it.
The main structure of the work is a metal tree trunk, symbolising the male-centred family structure and how the traditional family system constantly reinforces the continuation of the male lineage. In contrast, are the twisted branches, symbolising intervention, challenge and reshaping of this system. These colourful branches are not static, but an evolving organism that grows with each intervention by the audience. The audience is invited to pick up a Twisted Stick and add it to the tree, twisting and reshaping it. The new branches represent everyone’s identity, full of vitality and diversity, not belonging to any root system, but created and defined by themselves. By interacting with this tree, the audience becomes part of this continuous transformation, questioning the meaning of belonging together and thinking about who will shape future family relationships.
3. Artist: Weijue Wang, China
Born in 1993 in Nanjing, China, she received her B.A. from St. John’s College of Arts and Sciences in 2015 and her M.F.A. in Pure Art from the San Francisco Art Institute in 2017.
” She and her”, 2023, Felt art
The wall, made of red wool felt, displays the partial expressions of different female figures in the same form of language; they are surprised, angry and in pain. The artist said that she felt the indifference of others to what happened and extended it to the current situation of the female community being forced into silence. Therefore, she created the image of a girl with her mouth open, letting out a shout. All the women in the work have hollowed-out mouths as if to express the unspoken cries of women about stereotypical gender roles, reflecting the health and emotional distress of women at the centre of the family and society. The wool, which has been brought out through the needlepoint technique, looks delicate and soft like skin, but in fact, it is full of violent traces left during the production process, like a gentle and silent cry.
Society (workplace) section：
1: Artist: Yisu Zhang, China
Bachelor of Arts in Experimental Art and Science, Central Academy of Fine Arts.
“Start with the cucumber.”, 2023, performance art
This is a performance art piece. The artist sits quietly in a cubicle cutting cucumbers. The walls are covered with slices of cucumber she has cut every day until she has completed today’s work performance and then stops. The artist throws out a series of questions to trigger people’s thinking: ‘Do you like cucumbers? Have you ever had body anxiety? What is your weight? Have you ever dieted to lose weight? Do you think sticking cucumber slices really can beautify? Are you satisfied with your skin tone? Do you like your job? What is your salary? Do you think this job can fulfil your value? Can your job be easily replaced by others? Have you encountered gender discrimination in the workplace? Have you ever done any tedious and trivial side work? Do you like wearing make-up and high heels? Are you tired of a repetitive life? Do you want to stand up for yourself? Are you really content with the status quo?
The artist says: ‘This work is based on my relationship as a woman with cucumbers, and it draws out the problems that have long troubled me but that I have been unable to figure out: the dilemma of self-worth, the delusion that it is difficult to be properly placed, the unrelenting appearance anxiety, the lack of attention in the workplace, the cycle that is difficult to break, the boring and tedious life, the futile persistence…’ The artist simulates the 9-to-5 work scenario and the anxiety, resistance and powerlessness that women feel in the face of their future work. Women are not valued in the workplace, and they strongly reject this kind of repetitive work. It can be seen as a reflection of the gender discrimination that women in society often face in the workplace, including the dilemma of promotion. Most of the leaders are men, and women may be assigned to marginal tasks. It also reflects the fact that women in the workplace are not valued for their work due to the constraints of caring for children.
2. Artist: Xiayu Ji, China
Born in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, emerging Chinese artist
Crime Scene, 2023, mixed media
This is a set of works focusing on sexual harassment.
‘It’s just a touch.’ “Just think of it as someone accidentally bumping into you.” “How can something so trivial leave such a psychological impact?” “…’
The artist said, ”When I try to talk to older people about sexual harassment, I always hear unexpected answers. It seems that in the eyes of some people, sexual harassment is not a big deal, and even talking about it is a matter of sentimentality.
It is true that sexual harassment does not leave any visible physical scars, but that does not mean it is a problem that can be ignored. How to visualise the harm caused by sexual harassment and how to convey women’s resistance and attitude towards it has been something I have been thinking about throughout the semester.’
Even today, many women experience sexual harassment in society and the workplace. Many are afraid to speak out or simply tolerate it, hoping that it will go away. We need more women to speak up.
The image below shows one form of the work in a dark environment.
