Wen Ching Yiu (Krystine) is a visual artist based in Hong Kong focusing on graphic design, printmaking, and illustration. She graduated from Hong Kong Baptist University, BA (Hons) in Visual Arts in 2022.
Krystine has had an immense interest in visual arts since she was young. However, her first major inspiration was from her graphic teacher Heesun Seo in university, who further cultivated her interest in graphic design. However, focusing solely on digital medium made her feel “almost robotic”, simply using different tools to drag and drop to create digitalised images. Thus, she hoped to find a medium that could bring her out of this box, and physically participate to create lively images out of the computer.
When she studied a printmaking course taught by Angee Chan, Krystine had the opportunity to be exposed to different possibilities of screen printing and Risograph. The unique and eye-catching colours created by these two mediums piqued her curiosity. She combined her graphic design skills with screen printing and risograph, resulting in super playful images. “The boldness, contrast of colours and layering cost a lot more patience than graphic design, but I enjoyed the process of making, nonetheless,” says the printmaker.
Therefore, Krystine used this mix of graphic design and Risograph to complete her Bachelor degree graduation project: The B-liens (2022). She deconstructed her old toys digitally and reconstructed them into 12 characters inspired by the 12 Archetypes, and developed them into 186 small prints to show the possibilities of personalities.
Since graduation, Krystine has continued to use graphic design and printmaking as her main medium, working as a full time graphic designer while furthering her techniques as a printmaking artist.
Memories are her biggest source of inspiration which she brings to the mediums of screen printing, Risograph, and etching. Krystine deforms these memories and reconstructs them into images that remind her of her own identity, and reverts to a child-like playfulness. Influenced by contemporary graphic design and printmaking art, she uses surreal colour combinations to break conventional rules of beauty, while aiming to become extraordinary, conveying perfection in the imperfections within an image. Her style is colourful with a mix of illustrations combined with playful graphics and typography, resulting in truly experimental works.
Krystine has participated in various events and exhibitions, including the University of Arts London exchange programme in both 2021 (online mode) and 2022 (physical mode), and the 20:20 Print Exchange by Hot Bed Press in 2022. She was the special mention of the Academy of Visual Arts Award in the year 2022. Her work The B-liens (2022) is allocated as one of the AVA keeper’s collection. Krystine will be participating in the upcoming exhibition Oumuamua in the Corridor exhibited in Hong Kong in May 2023.
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