Yilu Xing, MFA Printmaking: 吃得开 eat the open

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Yilu Xing, "吃得开 eat the open"

Courtesy of the Gallery.

In Chinese, 吃得开 (eat the open) is an adjective that describes a state of being popular. 

吃得开 eat the open is an exhibition that explores the connections and relationships created through making and sharing food. Food is the one to always "eat the open." Growing up in a Chinese cultural background, I have experienced culinary culture as the most vital part of general Chinese Culture and that made me wonder what food offers us aside from nourishment. I love how food brings people together; whether it is festival time, family and friends gathering, celebrations and condolences, farewell and welcoming, art creation, philosophical thinking, anything and everything that involves people is inseparable from food. The habits of understanding cultures from a culinary perspective have been directing me in art creation and the ways I express myself as a person. In 吃得开 eat the open, I create food, prints, drawings, ceramics, videos, and interactive projects influenced by the repetitive processes of buying groceries, cooking meals, eating out, documenting food, and learning to cook from family members. Through eating and creative expression, I am trying to find a harmonious pattern of being myself, connecting with people, and connecting to my cultural background. 吃得开 eat the open is the final visual presentation for the degree of Master of Fine Arts in Printmaking.

About the Artist

Yilu Xing is an artist based in amiskwacîwâskahikan (Edmonton) in the Treaty 6 region of Alberta. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Alberta University of the Arts with a major in Printmaking and a minor in ceramics. Immigrating from China at a young age, her definition of home is deeply rooted in food and familial traditions. She is enthusiastic about food and the human connections that food generates. By creating works about food, through which everyone might establish emotional relationships regardless of their backgrounds, she shares her stories and expresses parts of Chinese culture's happiness, comfort, and nostalgia.