bio:

Yuxiao Zhu, originally from China and currently based in the UK, is an artist specialising in mixed media and contemporary jewellery design. Zhu studied at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in China, where she gained skills in painting, photography, and metalwork. During her master’s degree at Sheffield Hallam University in the UK, she concentrated on metalwork and jewellery design, exploring how traditional craftsmanship meets story painting. Her work embodies the fusion of cultural intersections and diverse influences, combining traditional metalworking, painting, and narrative imagery to create art that sparks curiosity and dialogue.

statement:

Inspired by the language of internet memes and reaction emojis, these works reflect how young people express emotional tension through irony and understatement. Phrases like "Ear Piercing here, right?" “fine” or “Everything’s great” echo the tone of deadpan stickers—smiling through burnout, masking distress with humor. This series explores how presence is flattened into performance, while true emotion fades into absence. Through subtle gestures and ironic calm, the works reveal a quiet breakdown dressed as politeness, shaped by digital culture’s way of coping with chaos.