Interview with: Xiaoping Yu
October 2025
Xiaoping Yu is a Scotland-based visual artist whose practice moves fluidly between installation, sculpture, and video. Her work explores the emotional and physical connections between body and mind, often touching on themes of belonging, identity, and transformation. Using materials such as resin, mirrors, clay, and organic textures, she creates immersive pieces that turn private emotions into shared experiences. Her art invites quiet reflection on what cannot be easily expressed , the subtle tension, empathy, and vulnerability that lie beneath everyday life. After completing her MA in Contemporary Art Practice at the University of Edinburgh, Xiaoping has continued to develop her multidisciplinary practice. She believes that art has no boundaries and enjoys experimenting with different materials to express memories and emotions that are often hard to describe. Her work explores the subtle connections between existence, nature, and human behavior. Living and studying abroad has deeply shaped her perspective, making her more aware of identity, adaptation, and how our emotions are influenced by the environments we inhabit.
Welcome Xiaoping, first and foremost, tell us about your background and why you choose to pursue this career. Do you remember the first artwork that moved something inside you?
Living and studying abroad has profoundly shaped my artistic journey. Being immersed in different cultures has made me more aware of identity, adaptation, and how emotions are influenced by our surroundings. My work often transforms personal memories and emotional experiences into visual language, exploring reflection, empathy, and transformation. I’ve always been drawn to artists who work closely with materials and emotion. El Anatsui, in particular, left a deep impression on me. I admire how he transforms simple, everyday materials into something that feels powerful and alive. His work taught me that materials can hold memory, and that repetition or touch can become a language of emotion. When I first saw his large metal wall pieces, I was struck by how they felt both fragile and strong at the same time. That balance, between delicacy and power, is something I always try to find in my own work as well.
Can you tell us more about the theme in your art and your inspiration?
The main theme in my work comes from how emotions and memories exist inside the body and how they shape the way we see the world. I’m often interested in what we can’t see, such as mental states, pain, or small feelings that people try to hide. Much of my work comes from personal experiences, such as adapting to new cultures, dealing with illness, or navigating identity as an international artist and woman. These experiences often become metaphors in my work, containers of emotion, fragments of memory, or organic forms that reflect both fragility and resilience. In Doors that Can’t Be Closed, I used mirrors and circular forms to connect dreams with reality. The work was inspired by a recurring dream about a door I couldn’t shut, which became a metaphor for fear and the things we can’t escape from. I like using materials such as resin, mirror, and textured surfaces because they feel alive; they can reflect both vulnerability and strength. Through my work, I try to make invisible emotions visible and invite people to reflect on their own inner worlds.
How does your art life impact other parts of your life?
My art and my life are deeply connected, and they constantly influence each other. I often get inspiration from my own physical and emotional experiences, whether it’s a moment of stress, a sudden memory, or the quiet details of everyday life. Living abroad has made me more aware of how the body reacts to change and how emotions can be shaped by our surroundings. When I got sick during my first month in Edinburgh, I began to notice how physical pain and emotional tension can reflect each other. That experience changed the way I see my body, not just as a vessel, but as something that carries emotions and memories. It also made me realize how fragility and strength can exist together in both art and life. This awareness continues to shape how I create and live. Art has become a way for me to process emotions, understand vulnerability, and connect with others through shared experiences of healing and reflection.
Your practice is developed around different mediums, a multidisciplinary approach, tell us about your practice?
My practice is multidisciplinary, spanning new media installation, digital video, and graphic illustration. I like exploring how invisible emotions and memories can be expressed through different materials. I often mix natural and man-made materials like resin, clay, and mirrors to create works that reflect on the relationship between the body, mind, and environment. My process is based on intuition but also on personal reflection. I often take inspiration from my own experiences, such as illness, cultural change, and emotional recovery, and turn them into visual stories that connect personal feelings with shared experiences. Working with different materials helps me see one idea from many sides and encourages viewers to think and feel in their own way. Through this process, I hope to create spaces where people can slow down, connect with their emotions, and see themselves reflected in the work.
What is the meaning or creative motivation behind your work?
My creative motivation often comes from personal experiences and emotional states that are hard to put into words. Living between different cultures has made me sensitive to feelings of displacement, adaptation, and belonging. These experiences have shaped how I understand identity and vulnerability, and they often become starting points for my work. I’m also deeply interested in how the body and mind reflect emotional tension. Through materials like resin, mirrors, and organic textures, I try to translate those inner sensations into something visible and tangible. For me, creating art is a way to understand what it means to exist in transition, between places, emotions, and states of being.
We are at the end of this short interview, would you like to add something else about your artistic research?
How did you find collaborating with our gallery?
My current research explores how installation and video can merge to create interactive experiences that connect emotion, sound, and movement. I’m interested in how visual and auditory elements can respond to the viewer’s presence, transforming observation into participation and creating an emotional and sensory dialogue between the audience and the work. This research continues my broader interest in empathy, vulnerability, and how art can bridge the space between individual and collective experience. In the coming months, I plan to exhibit these works in a group show that further explores how art can open conversations about identity, healing, and cross-cultural understanding. Working with Florence Contemporary has been a wonderful experience. I really appreciate how the gallery creates space for open dialogue and artistic exchange. It gave me a chance to share my work with new audiences and connect with artists who explore emotion, identity, and vulnerability in their own ways.