About
Artist Yuna Yu was born in Sichuan, China in 1997, currently working and living in London and Beijing.
Yuna’s practice focuses on exploring self-mythology, and the cultural and historical decay within a contemporary framework. In her early practice, she investigated individual psychological experiences, often involving themes such as blurred violence, provocative intimacy, nostalgic memory, and cycles of self-destruction and reconstruction. Over time, her work expanded in scope to examine the collective human experience in relation to mythology, decay, time, and eternity — themes she explores in her most recent series, Summer Decay.
Her work is deeply connected to her cultural background and travels to historical sites. Many of her visual languages are inspired by mythical figures, ancient artifacts, and the aesthetic of vintage studio photography. She also experiments with the contextual framing of painting, conveying her central themes through various formal and conceptual approaches.
Yuna’s practice focuses on exploring self-mythology, and the cultural and historical decay within a contemporary framework. In her early practice, she investigated individual psychological experiences, often involving themes such as blurred violence, provocative intimacy, nostalgic memory, and cycles of self-destruction and reconstruction. Over time, her work expanded in scope to examine the collective human experience in relation to mythology, decay, time, and eternity — themes she explores in her most recent series, Summer Decay.
Her work is deeply connected to her cultural background and travels to historical sites. Many of her visual languages are inspired by mythical figures, ancient artifacts, and the aesthetic of vintage studio photography. She also experiments with the contextual framing of painting, conveying her central themes through various formal and conceptual approaches.
Education
2020 BA Painting, Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, London.
2025 MA Painting, Royal College of Art, London.
2020 BA Painting, Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, London.
2025 MA Painting, Royal College of Art, London.
Tunnel, 2023, Simulacra Gallery, Beijing