The Rococo Renaissance
Who’s the Fairest of Them All by Xu Yang
An exclusive interview with artist and fashion icon, Xu Yang 🦄 Born and raised in the Shandong province of China, Yang talks romance, drag queens and Rococo paintings 🎨
Addy: Yang, thanks so much for joining me! How old were you when you first started painting?
Yang: I think I’ve been drawing my whole life. My dad sent me to a little drawing studio, so I started drawing. When I was 10, the tutor asked, "Do you want to try to paint with colour?" That's when I started with gouache. I started by painting an apple, in a very traditional fashion.
When I was 15, during A levels, I met this professor from Qingdao University. He said he wanted to help me with painting, so he encouraged me to do oil with him. From the beginning I was doing still life painting with oil, copying masterpieces to find my own colour scheme, so I did a lot of practice copying Manet, Monet, even some van Gogh pieces because he was very into impressionism. That's when I started to colour from impressionism, that's how I learned from it.
Addy: Cool, there are clear parallels between those works and your own. You were born in the Shandong province of China, and later studied here in the UK. How have these two cultures impacted your art practice?
Yang: I come from a traditional Chinese family. My mum runs a small heating business, we live just like any other family. My uncle travels the world. He has travelled to Japan, Hong Kong, Europe, the Middle East and South Asia as well.
I was really influenced by him as an adventurer. When I was little, my mum told me this European story, about a princess in a big castle, I had no idea what kind of life that would be. It was just pure fantasy for me. But my uncle would tell me stories about beautiful buildings and different cultures. I was really interested in exotic objects that I'd never seen before.
When I came to the UK, my girlfriend took me to National Trust properties. We went around different 18th century houses to learn about the culture in the UK. It was like a dream come true.
I also noticed that women were portrayed as sexual objects in different paintings, portraits and sculptures, so I try to use my paintings to place them in the same setting but instead, I try to give them the importance they deserve.
Addy: Would you say that's comparable to the importance that men are usually given in paintings?
Yang: Yes, women were not allowed to paint [other] women for a long time. Artists like Velazquez would portray women in a sexual manner to present to men. I'm trying to give them privacy, like in this painting that I finished a couple of days ago. (gestures to an artwork in her studio)
Addy: Wow, that’s brilliant.
The Admirer by Xu Yang
Yang: She's looking into the mirror, she's facing away and she also has clothes on. In my culture you're not really allowed to show your body so I've been partly influenced by that, but also I don't want her naked body to be seen. I give her clothes and she looks away so that she's not acknowledging the people that are looking at her. In a way she’s keeping herself for herself.
Addy: That's really interesting. How old were you when you first visited the UK?
Yang: I was 18. Before that, I’d only read about the UK in books, they were always about Big Ben and the tourist attractions. I arrived in Brixton and saw all these short buildings, I was like, "Okay, so where's Big Ben then?" (laughs) It looked really different from the books, people were clubbing. It's not like what I read, where everyone was dressed in like an old fashioned manner. When I came here, people were really funky and cosmopolitan. I started trying different cuisines here as well, from Persian food to Indian food. You have all these cultures mixed together in one city. I find that really wonderful.
Addy: So true, one of the best things about London is that it’s very multicultural. Okay, next question! In terms of style, your works resemble Rococo paintings, yet you choose to explore themes of sexuality, fantasy and fetish. What made you choose that contrast of image vs the message behind it?
Yang: I hope I can answer this question. When I came to the UK, I went to drag clubs. There were different drag queens that were dressed up. I was really attracted to how people can express their own identity in different ways.
When I was in China, it was very traditional, if you wore short skirts, really bright lipstick or high heels out on the street, people would look at you differently. I would never try really fancy clothes and my parents refused to get them for me because they believed girls should stay plain, nice and normal.
When I came here, my friends took me to drag clubs and I discovered this brand new world. I was just really attracted to how people were expressing themselves. Also watching period dramas and learning about 18th century Rococo from books, I see that as a type of drag. I really liked the look of the people, the women with stacked wigs and corsets to enhance their femininity. That's what I always wanted to do when I was little. I got some corsets just to try and I went out a couple of times. I found that I just felt more confident and more myself, I fell in love with this fantasy. I constructed an identity which I find is more representative of what I feel inside.
Addy: Amazing. What kind of period dramas do you watch? Is it stuff like Downton Abbey?
Girl Reading a Letter by Xu Yang
Yang: Yes. Downton Abbey, Dangerous Liaisons. Recently I’ve been watching this really old drama about an 18th century prostitute, I think it's on Netflix. I'll send you a name in a bit. The story is about two different prostitute houses fighting, they're trying to get the best location. It's hilarious, you should watch it. Oh, also Pose, I love Pose. [It’s set in] 1980s New York. Life was so hard, they had to try to just survive. You couldn’t be yourself and survive at the same time. Back then people were killed for just being themselves, which I find quite horrendous. People of colour fought so hard for our freedom today which is really valuable. What else do I watch? What is that gangster drama, Peaky Blinders?
Addy: Yes, Peaky Blinders!
Yang: I love that one and also Marie Antoinette, I love that film. Also, Catherine the Great.
Addy: Ooh, I haven’t seen that one.
Yang: It's about the Empress of Russia, Catherine. What I really admire about her is that she did whatever she wanted. She would hold parties where all the men had to wear women's clothes and the women had to wear men’s clothes, for them to exchange social status. The guys would understand that it’s not easy to swap roles or to be a woman.
Addy: I’m starting to see a pattern here, it’s quite clear how these figures have influenced your work, especially Marie Antoinette. That’s really cool.
Yang: Thank you.
Addy: What type of art do you most identify with?
Yang: I think I would say more classical, like 18th century art, when people started constructing the painting or the still life by constructing different components into the imagery. This type of arrangement is quite similar to what I’m doing now, because I feel sometimes, I'm collaging different elements into the imagery. It's like constructing a theatre for the painting to perform itself in a way. I also like the Pre-Raphaelites.
Flowers and the Skull by Xu Yang
Also, I like art from the 19th century. A whole bunch of artists decided that they didn't want to fall into cubism so they decided to go a different way. It’s rebellious, which is similar to what I'm doing right now.
Also, I’m into contemporary art but I'm not into the formatting. I would rather go back through art history to look at Rembrandt, Goya and Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun, who painted a portrait of Marie Antoinette. I got really into the process of using oil, it was exciting to see the painting come together stage by stage.
Addy: So you’re drawn to the process of painting?
Yang: Yes.
Addy: I love that. Can you describe your creative process?
Yang: I go through my old photos to find imagery from different research, different locations that I’ve visited with my girlfriend (Victoria), like National Trust properties or museums like the V&A. Those are the things I find inspirational. I find a whole bunch of those images and I start thinking about how to compose my own image. Sometimes it’s oil and linen. Sometimes I feel maybe it will look better on carpet or sometimes I want to dress up like that person, more like [a] performance.
Then I decide what to do with the image and also do some more research. For example, the painting showing in No 20 Arts right now is Ooooops, my shoe! That painting was inspired by The Swing by Jean-Honoré Fragonard. I went to the Wallace Collection, I saw that painting but I didn't like the dodgy man that was looking under her skirt. So, I decided to do my own version but get rid of the men. That's where the idea came from. I tend to have an idea then research online. I use online resources like the Louvre website, different antique shops on Instagram, Artsy, or just Google. I do a couple of drawings to try different compositions, then I decide what's going to happen.
Addy: And you work mainly with oil?
Yang: Yes. Oil on canvas and oil on carpet as well. Here are a couple of drawings I'm doing. (holds a sheet of paper up to the camera) I write at the side, the different elements that I think might go well with the image.
Girl in the Mirror by Xu Yang
Addy: Oh, wow. That’s really cool.
Yang: Thank you. Recently, I’ve started looking at peacocks. In China we have a big thing about peacocks. Every zoo must have them and they must have a white one.
Addy: Omg when I was in China I saw white peacocks. (laughs) My teacher took me to the zoo and they had these big white peacocks.
Yang: Yes, because it symbolises luck and good things. (laughs)
Addy: I had no idea. Okay, next question! Which is more important to you, the subject that you're painting or the way in which it’s executed?
Yang: Wow.
Addy: Sorry. (laughs)
(long pause)
Yang: That's really hard to choose. The process and materials are very important. I like oil and linen because I like to replicate the old masters, to imagine what they were doing with the image, but at the same time the subject matter is so important to me, because I feel like I'm fulfilling this fantasy for someone normal like me. I can't choose.
Addy: Maybe a bit of both. (laughs)
Yang: I think they're both equally important. Without the subject matter, it just becomes a process, it loses the joy of what the work is about. The subject matter is quite important but also the process, just enjoying the materiality of oil in different consistencies, like thin oil or thick oil. Different pigments have different characterisations, how they mix together is a great thing for me.
Addy: You described that perfectly. Okay, let’s talk about London Grads Now. Congratulations by the way! What was the best thing about being part of such a big group exhibition?
Yang: It was a fucking massive opportunity.
(laughter)
It was quite overwhelming. It's like [going] from nothing to everything happening. It was quite amazing. From the moment I knew it was happening, it really pushed me to think about my practice and also gave me hope of becoming a professional artist. That's what I'm trying to do right now. I'm doing nothing else but art. It's the most happy time of my life (laughs). It really forced me to think about how my work is presented and also the feedback from different audiences. I have to say, it helped me to get noticed because it was such a big opportunity. After that, I just wanted to keep making art and to maintain the quality of my work and also to challenge myself to be better.
Addy: The whole exhibition was amazing and everyone was so excited to see graduates showing their work at Saatchi.
Yang: I have to mention that my girlfriend, Victoria Cantons, is the person that started London Grads Now.
Addy: Really?
Yang: Yes. She organised a show at Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery for graduates and Saatchi saw the show and then that evolved into this bigger collaboration. She has to be mentioned, as she founded this huge opportunity for everyone.
Addy: That's amazing, I had no idea. What do you hope to communicate to audiences with your work?
Yang: My works are really personal to me. When I see my work, I see all those years of living in jeans and T-shirts. I see all the years that I couldn't be myself. Now I’ve found myself and I’ve achieved that with my works. I came from a small town in a normal family, with not much money. I deserve to have different fantasies and ideas, just like anyone else.
That's how I see my works, it's a small town girl that's fulfilling her dreams. Different people will engage with my paintings in different ways, which I quite like. The work is produced for myself but then it's also for other people to get whatever they like from it.
Addy: I like that you make your art for you. Do you have a favourite piece of work that you've created?
Yang: Snake for the Lover. The moment I finished this painting, I'm not being egotistical, but I was like, "Oh my god, I love this so much.” (laughs) It's the way that the fabric frames the woman and also her hair, her hair is more like a [drag] wig.
Snake for the Lover by Xu Yang
I had so much fun painting her hair. For me her hair is just like pure fantasy, because when I was little, I was fascinated by how people can have different hair colours, but I never tried to dye my hair or anything. But then when I got older, I discovered that a wig can do just about anything.
Addy: Totally, you can literally become anyone.
Yang: Also the snake that's coming out, that idea actually came from an ex-boyfriend. (iconic) He tried to connect with me on LinkedIn after three years. He was quite rude and abusive. It represents that past.
Addy: This snake is symbolic of him?
Yang: Yes. By putting that snake in the painting, it represents any woman that can put themselves into that vulnerable position. She's not facing us, she's facing towards the other side, so she obviously has no idea that this snake is coming. She could be anyone that's in this type of situation, she doesn't have an identity.
Addy: She represents all of us. There's so much detail in the hair.
Yang: Thank you. I just love the colour pink.
Addy: I’ve noticed. (laughs) There's such a cohesive nature to your work.
Yang: When I was little a teacher from kindergarten was asking the class, "What's your favourite colour?" I was going to say pink but the girl before me said pink, so I said yellow because I didn't want to repeat the same thing. My mum never bought me pink clothing because she thought it would get dirty really easily. I only started wearing pink after I came to the UK.
Addy: Really?
Yang: Yes.
Addy: Now you can wear it whenever you like.
Yang: I have a whole wardrobe of pink. (we stan)
Addy: Pink is great, I respect that a lot. Who are your greatest influences?
Yang: I went to see the musical, Amadeus, about Mozart. That was really impressive. He was a genius who was just going for things. He was crazy but he was living for his art and he didn't give a shit about how other people saw him. That was a big influence. Also my uncle, he encouraged me to paint. My parents were really encouraging but he was the person that gave me the hope that it could happen.
Addy: I love that. Last question! What do you think is the role of the artist within society?
Yang: I think it's quite important for art to exist because whenever things are happening, artists are always the first people to respond. For example, LGBT+ people started rebelling with their artwork and that's why we have our freedom today.
Earlier this year, with Black Lives Matter, it was the people from art that started posting things, then more people followed. I think it's quite a leading role in how society functions, because art forms culture and that's the most important thing. Art is bringing so many people together from so many different backgrounds. Like, I came from China and now I'm in the UK. So many of my friends have really complex backgrounds, I think art brings people together.
Addy: Definitely. It's so important for artists to respond to societal issues. Art and politics have always been intertwined.
Yang: Yes. I do think that we respond to so many issues in society. My girlfriend is transgender and from what I’ve seen, she has always been supported by the art world. It's the most accepting place. It's like a safe zone to be seen as equal with anyone else.
Pink Unicorn Parallels to Stubbs by Xu Yang
Addy: That’s wonderful, I really like that. Okay, so at the end of interviews, I like to do something called a rapid fire round 🔥🔥
Yang: What's that?
Addy: It’s a series of short questions, I give you two options and then you choose which one you prefer. Here we go! Abstract Expressionists or Pre-Raphaelites?
Yang: Pre-Raphaelites.
Addy: (laughs) I knew you were going to say that. Van Gogh or Matisse?
Yang: Van Gogh.
Addy: Couture or ready-to-wear?
Yang: Couture.
Addy: New York or Paris?
Yang: New York. I don't know why I chose New York, I've been to both places. I think mainly because I feel a lot safer in New York because people are more expressive. I even saw drag queens walking on the street, I found them quite beautiful.
Addy: I love New York. Horror movies or comedies?
Yang: Comedies.
Addy: Flares or mom-jeans?
Yang: Flares.
Addy: What super power would you have?
Yang: A lot of people are going to disagree with me but, I want to stay young forever.
Addy: Omg, I would do the same thing. What's the last song that you listened to?
Yang: Oh god, I think we tried to play some '80s tunes in the studio. Then we listened to Taylor Swift's new album.
Addy: Do you like her new album?
Yang: Yes, I love it. She made this video where she dressed up as a male version of herself. I was not a Taylor Swift fan, but when I saw that video, I was like, "You got it. That's the attitude." She's so brave, she's challenging a lot of people.
Addy: Yes, she’s fearless. Yang, thanks so much for sitting down with me for an interview! It's been really cool to see inside your studio (on zoom).
Yang: Thank you, you're welcome to drop in (irl) when you want to.
Addy: For sure, once lockdown is over, I’ll be there.
For more works from the wonderful Yang, check out her solo show Pandora’s Candy Box at For You Gallery here!