Yi Ling Lai is an artist born in Tainan, Taiwan, in 1997, currently living and working in London. She graduated from the National Taiwan University of Arts in 2019 with an undergraduate degree and followed with a Master's degree in Fine Art at Kingston University in the UK in 2021. Drawing on both Eastern and Western traditions, Ling has developed her artistic practice of using traditional techniques of Chinese calligraphy, combining it with contemporary painting and drawing to explore ideas, systems and experiences of languages and their limits.

Her practice tests both the restrictions and possibilities of traditional Chinese calligraphy; by pushing the boundaries of its use, she explores themes of desire, ambivalence and obsession, subjects typically considered impossible to express in traditional calligraphy. The use of lines in her works is diaristic and abstract, descriptive and opaque, creating unique rhythms across time and space. Despite painting on 2D surfaces - paper, canvas, walls - her drawings seem to burst from the surface, almost as if wanting to extend itself into three-dimensional space. By releasing traditional Chinese calligraphy from its literal meaning, she opens the viewing experience to all audiences, no matter your mother tongue.

Before exhibiting the mural painting at the Marshall Building, Ling had already received widespread attention. Participating in a number of shows across the world, previously selected exhibitions include National Art Exhibition, National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, Taichung (2018); Heterogeneity, Yat-sen Gallery, Taipei (2019); Distanced Domestic, MKII, London (2021); 10 ARTISTES, Croq'la Vie Gallery, St Clar (2021); London Grads Now. 21, Saatchi Gallery, London (2021); Circles in Circle, Open Ealing Gallery, London (2022); Not My Beautiful House, Kingston, London (2022) and the most recent: SOTA's accessible Art Fair, The Lab E20, London (2023). She was awarded the National Art Exhibition for Ink Painting in Taiwan (2018) and was shortlisted New Contemporaries in London (2020). In 2021, she won an artist residency scholarship from Blue Shop Gallery and was selected as a rising star on Saatchi Art's platform the following year, being the sole Taiwanese artist among 36 global talents.

Mindset 0920, a perfect example of Ling's technique and the impact of the final piece was a 2022 commission facilitated by Artiq on behalf of LSE. Ling developed a large-scale site-specific intervention in their newly built Marshall Building as part of their public art programme. The mural offers a blend of personal and cultural history. The core of this artwork embodies aspects of Ling's early experience working in traditional calligraphy. Still, as her approach to calligraphy has evolved through time and experience, it has gradually shed its original linguistic qualities and shifted into the realm of minimalism and abstraction.

Through breaking down the fundamental barrier of language, onlookers, which in this case is the international student body from over 140 countries, are invited to participate in the work on equal terms. She has said in regard to this mural Mindset 0920, that "it intends to provide an inclusive viewing experience to all audiences, regardless of their language or cultural background."

Ling's wall painting, created on-site, exhibits a distinctive connection to specific spaces, inseparable from the context. Throughout the whole painting process, the endless lines have inspired the creation and, as the core of this artwork, embody aspects of Ling's early calligraphy works but evolved through time and experiences, gradually shedding the linguistic qualities of calligraphy.
Through painting, Ling instantaneously depicts the stories, memories, spaces, and people within the architecture. Observing Ling's painting feels like listening to a series of stories, where the narrative elements and guiding interpretations are intentionally abstracted, allowing the entire work to articulate organically. Ling portrays emotions and nuances that are challenging to express with words and contexts, transcending language barriers-a central theme in Ling's current artistic focus.

Within the painting, Ling sophisticatedly sketches and symbolically depicts a person's connection with the self, objects, external buildings, and the world. The lines she uses in the painting open contemplation on themes of individualism, minimalism, and abstract expressionism. Moreover, the artwork challenges how she embraced foreign audiences through calligraphic visualities and narratives. By providing viewers and the artist alike with a serene, undisturbed flow of contemplation, this work has also been shown the varying facets imbued by the interplay of light and shadow at different times. The dynamic layout invites viewers to ponder and encourages them to engage with the ever-changing composition, fostering a reflective and participatory experience.

This is a message that is resonating far beyond the halls of LSE. While working as an emerging artist. In the past year, Ling has been invited to speak and host several art workshops for a range of businesses, brands and art organizations, such as Diageo, Prada and Ffern. Since earlier this year, she has also partnership with the British Museum and Camden Council to host regular calligraphy workshops for youth artists and collective.

Fundamentally, what Ling is offering is something authentic that speaks to ideas around her heritage without the limitations of looking back. Instead, Ling looks ahead and brings a traditional medium into the future.

By Beth Fleming, Associate Curatorial Director
November 23, 2023