Flowers

Painting feels natural to me, and I found that I preferred using lines and colors to express my feelings and ideas to words when I learned traditional Chinese ink painting and calligraphy in primary school art classes. Though neither of my parents draws, they are very supportive and have sent me to private lessons since I was in grade 7. Except for the first semester in grade 9, I have spent all my high school under the influence of Covid-19. And under the regulation in China, we had online classes on multiple occasions, and we were discouraged from traveling outside Beijing. The pandemic has taught me a hard lesson: I realized how I had taken everything for granted, and how deeply connected we are regardless of nationality, and the sacrifice as small as complying with the rules of quarantine and as exceptional as the works of the doctors and nurses, all contribute to the well-being of our society and the global community. I recognized the importance of making connections not only with people in my community but also with people from different countries and cultural backgrounds, and I am inspired to contribute to the harmony of the global community through art. I draw inspiration from my daily life and images on social network platforms. Most of my paintings are interconnected and are centered around two topics: the female figures from the past to now, of my own and as a collective, and environmental issues focusing on the misuse of plastics which is detrimental to all living creatures on Earth.

Huan Yu