Yijia Wu (b. 1997, China) is a multidisciplinary artist based in London. She graduated from Central Saint Martins with a BA in Fine Art in 2021 and completed her MA studies in Contemporary Art Practice at the Royal College of Art in 2023.
Wu's practice explores the everydayness, fluid notion of home, and both collective and individual experiences of migration. Through performance, sculpture, and installation, she utilises mundane, often domestic materials to create paradoxical situations for everyday life.
In her recent work, Wu delves into the cultural significance embedded within ordinary objects and materials. She reexamines the symbolic and cultural meanings associated with each medium and weaves a narrative that portrays her journey and the story of being a migrant while creating a language that is absurd yet familiar, nostalgic yet present.
EDUCATION:
2021-2023 MA Contemporary Art Practice, Royal College of Art
2017-2021 BA Fine Art (First Class Honours), Central Saint Martins
EXHIBITIONS:
2024: Ceramics in the City, Museum of Home, London, UK
2024: The Poetics of Reverie, Yongfu 70, Shanghai, China
2024 Wonderland, Filet, London, UK
2024 Manque, O bjet Petite ’s’, Greatorex Street, London, UK
2024 Roots in the Wind, Crum Heaven, Stockholm, Sweden
2024 Phony, Gallery Lock In, Brighton, UK
2023 RCA Graduate Showcase, Truman Brewery, London, UK
2023 No Man’s Land, A.P.T. Gallery, London, UK
2023 The Coronation Concert, Windsor, UK
2023 Cozy Ganza, Avalon Cafe, London, UK
2023 Tate Late, Tate Modern, London, UK
2023 Beyond Surface, Montez Radio, London, UK
2022 CAPbaret, Groovy Theatre, London, UK
2022 Bon Voyage, Slash Art, London, UK
2022 Home / Away, The Bhavan, London, UK
2022 BODY ECSTATIC BODY ECLECTIC BODY ECCENTRIC, Ulay Foundation, Slovenia
2021 What Have We Done?, Lethaby Gallery, London, UK
2021 The Showreel Show, Stour Space, London, UK
2021 Cirque de Show, A travelling art extravaganza, UK
2020 Elephant in the Room, The Dòng Gallery, Beijing, China
2020 Sale, Tate Exchange, Tate Modern, London, UK
2019 Open Mouth Film Festival, TT Cinema, London, UK
2019 I Dance the Other, Studio Wayne McGregor, London, UK
2018 Young Modulus, The Crypt Gallery, London, UK
2018 ‘RAW’, Lethaby Gallery, London, UK
2018 Improvisation, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
2016 Small Change, Kings Cross, London, UK
2016 1-100, Pangolin Gallery, London, UK
RESIDENCY:
Sarabande Foundation Residency 2024-2025
AWARDS:
2021 NOVA Award 2021 (shortlisted)
2021 CASS Art Prize 2021 (shortlisted)
2021 Barry Martin Prize 2021 (Shortlisted)
PUBLICATION:
Mula Zine, 2021, Malaysia
https://mulazine.com/conversations/poetry-and-nomadic-living-by-yijia-wu/
COLLECTION:
2021 University of the Arts London Collections
PRESS:
Ceramics in the City 2024
https://www.museumofthehome.org.uk/whats-on/events/ceramics-in-the-city-2024/
Artnet How Shanghai’s Art Scene is Transforming, from Hangzhou to West Bund
https://news.artnet.com/art-world/five-key-moments-shanghai-art-week-2568539
The Poetic of Reverie
https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/leXNd1egigBFziA_5RnOLw
Manque, Objet petite ‘a’
空缺，慾望「a」
https://www.artzip.org/manque-objet-petite-a
Sarabande Foundation 2024 -2025 Artist in Residence
https://sarabandefoundation.org/blogs/news/yijia-wu
RCA Coronation Concert
Yijia Wu (MA Contemporary Art Practice) - Coronation Concert Artwork
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9jUOHDE-mo
The Royal College of Art Student Behind the King’s Coronation Artworks
MA Contemporary Art Practice Student Takeover at Tate Late
Home/Away
https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/2CX3P7NfrmsVWaJaZni7Xg
Ulay Foundation - BODY ECSTATIC BODY ECLECTIC BODY ECCENTRIC
https://www.ulayfoundation.org/programme
MullenLowe Nova Award 2021 Shortlist
https://www.interlaced.co/article/meet-the-shortlist-for-the-2021-mullenlowe-nova-awards-1627372125
Shortlist revealed for 2021 MullenLowe NOVA Awards
https://www.diarydirectory.com/newsarticle/shortlist-revealed-for-2021-mullenlowe-nova-awards/38247
Get inspired by these 14 creative projects, all shortlisted for the 2021 MullenLowe NOVA Awards
Elephant in the Room