Ningyue Qian (b.1999) lives and works in London, graduated with first class honours in sculpture from Shanghai Academy of Fine Arts as an undergraduate, and master’s degree from MA sculpture 23-24 at the Royal College of Art.
“Walking on the bed of the Thames after the tide has gone out, the broken bricks exposed there construct my imagination of the past and the present.”
Ningyue's work is inspired by an exploration of the myths of modernity. As a Chinese expatriate living in London, the differences she feels as a result of her constant travelling between geographical and cultural locations have reshaped her fundamental understanding of space, memory and identity. She focuses on the culinary culture of her hometown, Ningbo, China. Food and digestion constitute a structural isomorphism between society and the body, and this is the main site in which she constantly negotiates with the world and develops the important means of her creation. Dough as a medium inspires her; ever-changing dough shapes trigger her to think about unconscious habits within oneself and how the body floats in relationships.
The affective space beneath the narrative of the myth of modernity is implied in Ningyue's treatment of materials. She uses cooking (cultural cooking) as an inspiration for her creativity and criticality, using everyday kitchen materials such as dough and sugar, and combining these seemingly fragile and mundane materials with contemporary or on-site cooking methods to continuously extend and expand them until they reach a level of coverage.
Ningyue received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the College of Fine Arts, Shanghai University, China in 2023, graduating first in the Sculpture Department, and was the only winner of the Zeng Zhushao Scholarship from Shanghai University in the same year.She was awarded two consecutive national scholarships from the People's Republic of China from 2019 to 2022, and was awarded the Shanghai University Scholarship for Academic Excellence in 2022.
Her work was included in the Art in the docks exhibition (2024), supported and sponsored by Art In The Docks and Notting Hill Genesis, and described by the Mayor of Newham, London, as a highly creative and surprising sculpture；The future of belonging (2024), supported and sponsored by Speiro projects; Sixthe senses (2024) at Standpoint Gallery residency programme；Zeng Zhushao Scholarship Exhibition (2023) sponsored and nominated by China Sculpture Society, Datong Municipal People's Government；Shanghai Academy of Fine Arts Outstanding Works Exhibition (2023) Shanghai Academy of Fine Arts.