About
Qinkeer Xu is a visual artist from China specializing in illustration, printmaking, and mixed-media experimentation. Her practice persistently revolves around the exploration of self-perception, reconstructing fragmented memories through imagery to transform an introvert’s observations into visualized dialogue vessels. Sustained painting training since her student years imbues her work with precise layering, while her recent engagement with printmaking and hybrid media has expanded the dimensions for expressing private narratives.
In the series ‘Hand in Hand’, the artist composites five identity layers of lithography with translucent fabrics and wool felt. Recurring rubber bands serve both as material anchors of memory and metaphorical carriers for the tension between shifting social identities. When transparent prints bearing symbols of diverse roles are randomly superimposed, subcutaneous bruising simulated through needle felting reveals the psychological fissures of perfectionists – those ostensibly warm artisanal textures are in fact pain imprints formed through hundreds of punctures.
Interdisciplinary collaboration constitutes a vital component of Qinkeer Xu’s artistic practice. During her MA studies in Printmaking at the Royal College of Art, she participated in the climate crisis project ‘The Memory of Nature’, collaborating with creators from fashion and urban design fields to explore visual translations of eco-anxiety. Employing “shifting baseline syndrome” as a theoretical framework, the team transformed vanishing childhood memories within climate change into arboreal fabric installations through hand-drawn narratives, UV printing, and public interventions. This project transcended traditional printmaking boundaries by converting viewers’ tactile engagement with textile surfaces into rituals of communal memory activation, forging new pathways for visualizing ecological grief and sharing collective emotions.
Qinkeer Xu’s art consistently seeks equilibrium between intimate emotions and public discourse. She excels at transmuting fragile materials into psychological cartography: the elasticity of rubber bands mirrors contradictions in personal identity formation, while the organic textures of fabrics become mediating mediums connecting individuals with nature. These material languages collectively address a central inquiry – how to achieve more honest dialogues with oneself and the world through creative practice.