I was born in China, the third daughter in a traditional patriarchal family and under the Communist Party. I was raised in a society that emphasised formality, discipline, and a rigid sense of right and wrong, and that created a world that felt cold and serious, with little space for joy. As an artist now, my journey—from the rigidity of my upbringing to the freedom and complexity of life in the West, where the endless flow of news, opinions, and debates can create confusion and make it hard to know what’s true. It’s like I’ve moved from one form of control to another—a flood of voices that can drown out my own thoughts and instincts.

I feel that contrast deeply, and my work with nature offers a sense of escape into something more dreamy, fantastical, and free. Nature, in my work, becomes a space where all of these external pressures fall away. Whether it’s political systems, technology, or societal expectations, my landscapes are a way to return to something pure and universal. They remind us that, beyond all the noise, we are still part of something bigger—the earth, the universe, and the natural world.

My art revolves around the use of oil sticks on paper, enabling an unfiltered connection between colour and surface without the intermediary of a brush. When I am painting, it's like returning to a more primitive state, before culture and civilization complicated things. It's a way to express the universal feelings we share, find happiness in that connection to the earth and the universe.

All in all, I see nature as something that unites all of us—human beings, animals, and plants—as part of the same organic world. Painting nature becomes a way to explore the purity and simplicity of life that feels more real and foundational, compared to the chaotic and often confusing reality we live in today.