Vanilla Chi‘s work focuses on the cultural symbols and motifs of Eastern Asian cultures, folklore and folk beliefs. There is a nebulous and fatalistic connection between primitive religions, folk beliefs, folklore, totemism and symbolism, which provide her with a way of seeing and interacting with the world. What has led us to the present, and what will guide us into the future? Chasing these queries, Vanilla’s practices dive into her heritage memories, culture context and personal histories.
Thank you for joining us, Vanilla. Can you tell us a little about yourself?
My name is Vanilla Chi (b. 1997, China), and I am an illustrator/designer currently based in New York and New Haven. I graduated with a BFA in Illustration from the School of Visual Arts in 2021 and am currently pursuing an MFA in Graphic Design at the Yale School of Art.
As a freelance illustrator, I create editorial illustrations for newspapers and publications such as The New York Times, The New Yorker, and WIRED. I also work on campaigns and advertising for various brands and companies. Identifying as an artist, I engage in multidisciplinary media, including book-making, writing, editorial design, ceramics, textiles, and more.
What ideas are you exploring in your practice? What is your process like?
My works are mainly focus on folk art religion and symbolism. The process is Primitive, Graphic, Decorative, Maximalism and Research based. In both commissioned work and personal creation, I strive to approach thinking in a way that deviates from subjective cognition. I hope that the perspectives and embodied cultural elements in my work will also serve as a lens to present things and stories that may have been forgotten, overlooked, or underestimated.
Sometimes, it might even seem overtly “off-topic,” but I am particularly enamored with the ambiguous and indescribable connection between the personal and the work. This connection transcends experience, akin to a daydream, existing beyond the consciousness of the everyday. Even in the process of creation, I often enter a ritualistic state of flow, where external fluctuations are irrelevant, and I slowly translate consciousness through the images with devotion.
Are you involved in any collaborative or self-organized projects? If so, can you talk more about it?
I am the co-founder of the independent publishing studio “Pearl Slug Studio”, alongside three other members whose practices include curation, photography, and creative writing. Pearl Slug Studio is rooted in the Chinese and East Asian context, which focuses on the visual arts and simplified Chinese writing and reflects on today’s art historical, sociological, and aesthetic concepts. So far, we have published more than ten artist books and have participated widely in book fairs around the world.
I also work as co-editor of Raging Magazine, which is a bilingual independent art magazine published by Pearl Slug Studio that showcases artists’ works in various media through themed discussions. Founded on November 25, 2020. Raging is dedicated to providing a platform for emerging artists from China and the Global South to express themselves through art.
What does “community” mean to you? How do you see yourself in a community?
For me, community means a group of people who share space and time, whether offline or online. However, after the isolation of the pandemic, I particularly value physical communities where I can listen, speak, touch, hug, and share experiences with others. My most recent sense of community comes from a handcrafting workshop I host with friends. Earlier this year, I started learning how to knit and decided to organize a weekly workshop, open to all skill levels, where we can share techniques. In these workshops, we exchange food, tea, and recent experiences and offer support to one another. I see myself as very much a beginner, and often without a defined role in the group—most of the time, I just listen.
You’ve been very active during the past few years. What do you find the most daunting, challenging, or frustrating about pursuing art?
Burnout is common, especially when working as a commercial illustrator in the modern industry. For a long time, I felt constrained by the medium. While I still love illustration as a discipline, the process of creating it often felt unsatisfying.Two years ago, I couldn’t pinpoint the cause of this dissatisfaction—was it the creative bottleneck, burnout, or something inherent to the medium itself? This also made me question the discipline, such as what we are taught through formal education abroad. Is it necessary to spend four years as an undergraduate or even pursue graduate studies to learn these skills? That’s why I’ve continued to explore other media in my personal time, whether through self-publishing, ceramics, textiles, or shifting my focus to multidisciplinary graphic design.
Do you have any advice that you would offer to others?
Life is equal to work. I consider time to be the only matter thing for a creative path.
text & photo courtesy of Vanilla Chi
- Website: https://vanillachi.com
- Instagram: @vanilla_hchi
