Yiran Zhang

Yiran Zhang's work explores the relationship between humans and nature, and between humans and non-human entities. Her creations utilize the medium of printmaking, with a focus on repetitive elements and embodied expressions. She immerses herself in the intricate process of creation, experiencing the coexistence of multiple elements within her works. Often guided by rhythms, she listens to the resonances between the body and the natural world, transforming these resonances into the language of art to evoke contemplation of the uncanny, the extraordinary, and the ambiguous in viewers. Yiran's recent series of printmaking works, titled "Postbugs," showcase her imagination of the integration of human and non-human characteristics. Postbugs represent a new kind of bug in a post-modern world, symbolizing the potential for interspecies diversity. Employing etching techniques, she uses dots and lines as tools of "Fictioning" to depict exquisite creatures, stimulating the viewers' imagination of binary-centered organisms. These works explore the blurred boundaries of life forms, challenge the dichotomy between humans and the natural world, and provoke contemplation on biodiversity and multi-centric existence. Yiran is currently a student enrolled in the MA1 Print program at the Royal College of Art. She participated in several exhibitions, including the annual open exhibition at Southwark Park Galleries in 2023, the Autumn Salon Exhibition at the China Yue Art Museum in 2022, the 4th Contemporary International Ink Design Biennial Exhibition in 2022, and the 15th Annual Conference of Printmaking Teaching and Creation in China in 2021.