Yanqiu Yu
Fine Art BA (Hons)
Central Saint Martins UAL
Graduates: 2025
Specialisms: Fine Art / Art History / Installation/Sculpture
My location: London, United Kingdom
Yanqiu Yu
First Name: Yanqiu
Last Name: Yu
University / College: Central Saint Martins UAL
Course / Program: Fine Art BA (Hons)
Graduates: 2025
Specialisms: Fine Art / Art History / Installation/Sculpture
My Location: London, United Kingdom
Website: Click To See Website
About
For me, making art is a way of translating perceptions into material and spatial experiences. My practice explores the temporal and narrative dimensions of objects, shifting between personal memory and institutional archives. I’m particularly interested in how material culture, from everyday belongings to museum artefacts which accumulates layered histories and changing meanings over time. Working across installation, sculpture, video, and text, I draw from research in art history, archaeology, and object theory. Many of my projects are informed by interdisciplinary independent research and in-depth engagement with collections and archival materials within institutional contexts. Recently, I have become increasingly focused on the act of collecting as a means of shaping subjective time and examining the tension between preservation and reinterpretation. For me, making art is a way of translating perceptions into material and spatial experiences. My practice explores the temporal and narrative dimensions of objects, shifting between personal memory and institutional archives. I’m particularly interested in how material culture, from everyday belongings to museum artefacts which accumulates layered histories and changing meanings over time. Working across installation, sculpture, video, and text, I draw from research in art history, archaeology, and object theory. Many of my projects are informed by interdisciplinary independent research and in-depth engagement with collections and archival materials within institutional contexts. Recently, I have become increasingly focused on the act of collecting as a means of shaping subjective time and examining the tension between preservation and reinterpretation. This body of work traces the development of two interconnected trajectories in my practice: one grounded in intimate, lived experience, and the other engaging critically with historical and institutional narratives. This body of work traces the development of two interconnected trajectories in my practice: one grounded in intimate, lived experience, and the other engaging critically with historical and institutional narratives.
Collecting may have always been part of my practice. I often begin with small objects; however, they are often too small and easily excluded from what is typically considered ‘proper work’. Beyond the digital archive, I hope that these objects can be seen as independent entities that have their own logic. They should not be fixed in a single context, but can be freely combined and ‘composed’. The work doesn’t focus on the meaning of each object on its own, but on the relationships and structure between them - a way of expression built on intuition, order, and connection. Documenting through slide film, this newly obsolete medium creates a sense of mystery and distance, turning the scenes into quiet moments of attention.
Competitions
