Yuan Yining raised a black bird "Xiaohei", a white cat "Seagull", and planted a 25-year-old iron tree of her age. Blackie often runs to play in the large leaves of the iron tree, which has a large planting pot and extra space for growing cat grass, so seagulls also frequented here.
Although Blackie and Seagulls are not the same species, they compete with each other for pets and feuds, and they are no less capable of intrigue than humans, so that they cannot coexist in the same space - one is released, the other has to be caged.
Yuan Yining laughed and called this a "black and white double evil" at home. She also raised lotuses, goldfish, henna, sunflowers, daylilies, peonies, cabbage... All of this became the inspiration for her creations.
Yuan Yining is a trendy artist and environmental art creator, and the three years of the epidemic have been the time when she stays at home the most, and it is also the time when she is most creative.
The animals and plants at home transform into a wonderful world in her writing, growing freely, cheerfully and warmly in the casual lines and colors.
"When I Lie in the Grass" 2022
Banana Bird in the Garden 2022
"Flying into the Sweet Dream" 2022
"Fruity Paradise! 》2021
Do you eat fish too? 》2021
Relaxation and imagination
"Contemplative Head" 2020
Picnic Again 2021
"Spicy Fragrant Pot in the Universe" 2021
"Just want to whisper to you" 2021
Xiaoxing: What kind of environment and state did you create these works in?
Yuan Yining: You may have noticed that my work uses a lot of lines and floating colored elements, which seems to be very relaxed and casual. I think my state can be summed up in the words "randomness".
Since I was a child, I didn't like to sketch, and I enjoyed the unexpected beauty of the randomness of the lines in my pen. I also put myself in a relatively relaxed state in my life, uncertainty brings more surprises, grab an inspiration and extend it. This also forms the overall style of my work.
YUAN YINING AND HER DESIGN MENY BIRD
THE MENY BIRD SERIES IS BASED ON BLACKIE
BLACKIE, THE PROTOTYPE OF MENY BIRD, PLAYS AMONG THE LEAVES OF AN IRON TREE
YUAN YINING AT THE MENY BIRD EXHIBITION
Xiaoxing: Almost all of your works are composed of natural elements, and the inspiration also comes from nature?
Yuan Yining: My inspiration comes from the environment around me, I like to observe animals and plants, and I also have a lot of animals and plants at home, which retain a wilder state than people.
For example, the MENY BIRD SERIES IS A HEALING BIRD CHARACTER THAT I CREATED, AND ITS PROTOTYPE IS MY PET BIRD BLACK, WHICH HAS BEEN RAISED FOR MORE THAN 10 YEARS. Once, I saw it basking in the sun, shrinking its feet under its belly, its feathers were fluffy, and it looked like a hairball from behind. So the form of MENY BIRD is round and unangular, which is a comfortable, lazy state of the bird I observed from Blackie.
Many of my graphic works are also inspired by the root lines of plants, which can grow endlessly and spread into arbitrary shapes without restriction or interference. This is a kind of beauty that belongs to nature and cannot be replicated.
Saber-rattling blacks with seagulls
"We like to nibble carrots quietly" 2022
The production process of the works of the phoenix flower
Xiaoxing: Due to the epidemic, everyone has fewer opportunities to contact nature outdoors, in this case, how do you capture your inspiration?
Yuan Yining: During the epidemic, I am still quite adaptable, in fact, I have a sense of participation and achievement in the indoor environment to contact nature.
In the summer, I planted some phoenix flowers, also known as henna, which can dye nails, and I created a work out of its petals.
There will also be a lot of fun stories between Blackie and Seagull. Xiao Hei I raised for more than 10 years, and then the seagull came, and Xiao Hei would go to grab the cat's territory and bathe in the cat's drinking bowl. The two of them are usually quite discordant, I dare not release the cat and the bird at the same time, when one is outside, the other must be in the cage. Then I drew a work based on it, "We Like to Quietly Nibble Carrots", in a space there is a small arch with a cat lying and a bird standing on the cat. In the state that cannot be achieved in reality, I let them be realized in the painting.
I think there are many ways to contact nature, whether indoors or outdoors, and it is a great flavoring agent for life.
"Traveling Maps of Plants" series
Xiaoxing: Recently, your work "Plant's Travel Map" won an award in the Genesis Program, can you introduce it?
Yuan Yining: It is a picture book inspired by a boom in hydroponic greenery on the Internet. Many people's survival under the epidemic also contains the desire for harmonious coexistence between man and nature, such as home planting, and now hot camping.
Each work in this picture book is a story about nature, and there is a subtle connection between the stories, earthworms loosen the soil, can make apples grow better; Through the moisture of raindrops, corn can grow taller quickly, and corn can be made into recyclable environmentally friendly plastic bags...
Each work is accompanied by a small poem, and at the end of the story, an invitation card for plant travel will appear, and if this card is immersed in water for a few days, it will slowly sprout, whether it is a cockroach, a sunflower or a wheat caulift, just like a trip full of surprises.
The key words I define for this picture book are "warmth" and "circulation". In addition to using sustainable and recyclable specialty paper for its own materials, we also hope to convey environmental awareness and guide everyone to practice sustainable lifestyles.
At present, the first phase of the travel map has been created, and the second phase is also in preparation, since it is a trip, I hope it will continue forever. Wait until the third and fourth issues before considering official publication.
Art and environmental protection
Homemade DuPont paper caps
"Only Me Like This" 2021, which is a work created at the invitation of a stray animal rescue organization
"Only Me Like This" pet art saliva towel
Xiaoxing: As an artist, you are also an environmental art creator, how did you first enter the field of environmental protection?
Yuan Yining: The real work related to environmental protection actually started when I renovated my house in early 2018. At that time, I understood and paid attention to some environmentally friendly materials, such as DuPont paper, environmentally friendly paint, degradable fabrics, etc., and I would try to choose degradable and reusable materials when decorating.
I also tried to create with these materials, such as making a "regenerative top hat" out of DuPont paper, and now this top hat has become my flower pot to grow some small cabbage seedlings.
Environmental protection is closely related to our lives and affects both ways. Human beings affect the environment, and the environment in turn affects the survival of human beings. This year, Dutch scientists published a paper in the International Journal of Environment, saying that for the first time microplastics were found in human blood, these microplastics may also enter human organs, and there should not be plastics in the human body.
I hope that my works can play some value in the process of practicing eco-friendly living for the public.
"A Glass of Ocean Drink", made from marine plastic waste
Manuscript of the eco-friendly art installation "Growth"
Xiaoxing: What do you think artists can do to promote public welfare and environmental protection?
Yuan Yining: I think the most special thing about art is its subtle influence, which is not to tell people how to do it, but more to give people space for understanding and discussion.
Every viewer and observer thinks about the work above the work, and I think this is one of the advantages of promoting public welfare in the form of art.
I recently created a large-scale eco-friendly work, Growth, which is shaped like a Christmas tree more than three meters tall, superimposed and assembled from fish cages, foam balls, and discarded parasols from the ocean and river.
Now there are a large number of waste fishing nets left in the ocean, this type of plastic waste accounts for 1/10 of the world's marine debris, not only endangering the safety of marine life, but also affecting the environment we live in.
At present, various festivals, such as Valentine's Day, Spring Festival, and Christmas, are also times when merchants use a lot of materials, we recycle the garbage in the ocean, artistically process it, and make a work to display at the festival. The original intention is not to let us absolutely abandon modern life, but to coordinate the relationship between people and the environment within the scope of control, and handle it more appropriately.
In summer, kittens seagulls with blooming lotus flowers
The withered lotus leaves in autumn are also a sight
The acrylic container used to make "Ocean Special Drink" was used to raise goldfish
Iron tree at home
Outdoor peonies
Daylilies grown outdoors
Sunflowers grown outdoors
Xiaoxing: Now there are many people who grow plants at home, do you have any thoughts to share?
Yuan Yining: There are two very practical suggestions, I have done a small research, many people raise plants easy to forget to water, raise plants to death, because ordinary pots we water in, may dry in a week. Now there is a new type of pot, also made of environmentally friendly materials, which stores water by the height difference between the inner and outer pots, and watering the pot, which can last for a month.
In addition, the iron tree I raise is nearly a meter in diameter, and its pot has extra space, so I will plant some cat grass. The acrylic left over from the previous work of "Ocean Special Drink", I made a fish tank to raise goldfish. The water changed by the fish tank is used to water the iron tree, and the cat grass is planted under the iron tree, and the kittens will go to play, forming a small ecosystem.
NYZO is a trend artist and art creator. Her artworks are highly iconic, inspired by animals, plants and nature, often using diffuse colors and casual intertwined lines to construct pictures, with a unique personal artistic style. He has held many solo exhibitions at home and abroad, and his works have won awards such as the 2021 British Ecodesign Award.
Written by/Zhou Wei
Photo/Courtesy of interviewee
Duty Editor/Weekly Dimension