Yvonne Feng (b.1989) lives and works between Hong Kong and London. She completed her MA at the Royal College of Art in 2014 and her practice-led PhD, Tracing the Unspeakable: Painting as Embodied Seeing, at the Slade School of Fine Art, UCL, in 2020. She is an Associate Lecturer at Camberwell College of Arts, UAL, and formerly Senior Lecturer in Fine Art Painting at the University of Brighton.

In her painting practice, Feng takes possession of life and societal events, infusing them with her own imaginary and subjective experiences. Through playful experimentation with figural forms and painterly gestures, she searches for representations that defy singular narratives and predefined meanings of events, making visible the intricate human condition within the midst of these occurrences.

Feng received the William Coldstream Memorial Prize (2017) from the UCL Art Museum and the Excellence in Drawing Award (2015) from The Arts Club. She has exhibited internationally, including at Goethe-Gallery, Hong Kong; HART Haus, Hong Kong; The Supper Club with HART Haus, Hong Kong; Rabbet Gallery, London; The Salon by NADA & The Community with Current Plans, Paris; The Koppel Project, London; Daniel Benjamin Gallery, London; A.P.T Gallery, London; and the Freud Museum, London, among others. Her work is held in the UCL Art Museum Collection and various private collections worldwide.

Can you tell us about your background and how you started your artistic journey?

I was born in Guangdong, China and moved to Kent, UK in my teens. Growing up, I didn’t see “artist” as a real profession, since there were no museums or art scene in my hometown, but I always found myself drawn to the school art room. It became a place where I could breathe, a refuge from the rigid, academically focused curriculum of Chinese schooling, and a space where I could create and express myself.

Following that instinct, I went on to study Fine Art at the Slade School of Fine Art, UCL. During my undergraduate years in London, I immersed myself in museums and galleries, seeing art in person for the first time and learning art history and contemporary practice
from tutors, visiting artists and peers. I absorbed everything like a sponge, trying to discover my own voice as an artist.

During my Master’s studies at the Royal College of Art, the sudden incarceration of a family member became a turning point. I felt an urgent need to process, question and find my agency through drawing, painting and writing. That experience solidified my commitment to art making as a way of thinking through life events and as a form of self- empowerment.

What are the main themes or concepts you explore in your work?

My recent work explores the notion of ‘Docile Bodies’ in a trilogy of exhibitions that approaches the theme through barrier, gesture and sight. Through a synthesis of bodily symbolism, pandemic-inflected motifs and fluid painterly gestures, I probe embodied memory and the ongoing negotiation between control and agency. I set up the canvas as a stage, incorporating symbolic boundaries and confined spaces that become a backdrop for contemplating how bodies conform to or resist predetermined rules, structures and restrictions. In doing so, I explore the intricate entanglement between the body and the spaces it inhabits.

The imaginary figure or the recurring motif of the hand, bare or gloved, serving as a performative agent, for negotiating the inextricable relationships between the individual and the external crisis, the inner self and the collective, navigating the thresholds between
self‐indulgence and restraint, autonomy and authority, performing a delicate choreography of mutual regulation. By situating the body in familiar yet dislocated environments, or by embodying existentially entrapped situations, I question whether the body is controlled or autonomous, disciplined or free.

How has your artistic style evolved over time?

The style of my work has evolved in response to my ongoing search for communicative and representational strategies, especially as the themes I explore shift over time. I am constantly looking for new ways to represent past events that have become overly familiar through mediated images, sometimes so familiar that we stop questioning them or feeling anything toward them. I seek forms and gestures that can evoke shifting, ambiguous meanings and hold multiple layers of reference. As a result, one series may focus more on bodily gestures, while another leans into symbolism.

What remains consistent is the presence of drawn and bodily elements. My process always begins with drawing, drawing receptively. The body is not only a recurring motif but also a medium I paint with. Through it, I allow its imaginary contours to open up, and I experience, in a corporeal way, the pains, pleasures and struggles of both myself and others.

In what ways do you think the art world has changed since you started your career?

The art world has become more inclusive and globally interconnected since I began my career. When I was an undergraduate student, I encountered very few Asian tutors, and it was rare to see exhibitions by Asian women artists in London. I am glad to see that the landscape has diversified, and I feel honoured to have worked as a lecturer myself, witnessing students from many cultural backgrounds having their work exhibited and recognised.

In the summer of 2024, I began working between Hong Kong and London. I have been struck by how vibrant the Hong Kong art scene is, from international galleries to grassroots project spaces. I once believed I needed to be in major art centres like London to build a career as an artist. London still offers a great deal, but places like Hong Kong are thriving too. Being there has opened up new conversations with audiences and allowed me to reconnect with my heritage in meaningful ways.

What challenges have you faced as an artist, and how have you overcome them?

It often takes a long time to turn ideas into artworks and then have the opportunity to exhibit them. I remind myself to trust my intuition and to have faith in myself and the work.

How do you stay inspired and motivated to create new work?
I stay inspired by seeing exhibitions that intrigue me and by staying attentive to what is happening socially and politically around me. I question what I see, what remains unspoken or is forced into forgetting, and I seek out shared feelings and memories.

Text & photo courtesy of Yvonne Feng

Website: https://www.yvonne-yiwen-feng.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yvonne.ywfeng/