Xiaojing Yan and her artwork at Kennedy Station

October 2009

Xiaojing Yan was all smiles after installing her artwork at Kennedy Station. Yan’s Butterfly Art Mutation was situated near the bus platform.

Yan’s art installation was part of the City on the Move – A Festival of Young Artists in Transit, which runs on the TTC until June 2010. Each month, young artists from diverse backgrounds and artistic styles will put on a variety of performances and showcase their artwork at selected subway stations.

Born in China, Yan creates her art by using fabric and fabric hardener. She says her artwork is not only symbolic of Chinese traditions, but it also reveals Western influences.   

“As an artist migrating from China to North America, both my identity and my sculpture pass through the complex filters of different countries, languages and cultural expectations,” Yan says.

“I filter Chinese thoughts through English words, English words through Chinese culture and my psyche through artwork.”

She has a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Decorative Art from the Nanjing Art Institute in China, as well as a Master of Fine Arts in Sculpture from the Indiana University of Pennsylvania.