Her rich experiences from art studies abroad and until recently, motherhood, have shaped her personal growth in communication expression. These inspired Meiyi to explore the psyche behind emojis, especially those that she used frequently such as the Moon, lucky bamboo, and the cherry blossom. She began the Studies of Emoji Series in 2021. It also marks the evolution of Meiyi’s understanding of the creative context behind her work.
“I want my veins to be organic, closely related to personal growth, and dense with branches.” —— Wang Meiyi
Meiyi believes in the diversity of personal meaning and emotion reflected in art. “Like the cyanotype, there is an ambiguous space for translation, making these emojis a complex of both objective and subjective emotions, rich and interesting.”
Once Gallery’s second exhibition Reborn in Spring comprised a solo staging of Meiyi’s Studies of Emoji Series as part of the gallery’s commitment to promoting original printmaking artists. “I tapped into my own understanding of this universal language and then matched it to the appropriate medium to express what I think of it,” she adds, thus the use of pencil illustrations and blue print.
Wang Meiyi 王梅一
BFA in Visual Communication and Printmaking from the University of Alberta, Canada.
MFA in Printmaking from the Royal College of Art, London.
Wang Meiyi then channeled these into prolific participation in international exhibitions in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, London, Edmonton (Canada), Cairo, and Rheine-Mesum (Germany), where she participated in the Klöster-Bentlage Museum’s artist-in-residence program.
Works
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Lucky Bamboo
2021
40x40cm, Drawing, Digital Inkjet, Total Edition: 30
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Crystal Ball
2021
40x40cm, Drawing, Digital Inkjet, Total Edition: 30
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Tulip
2021
40x40cm, Drawing, Digital Inkjet, Total Edition: 30
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Full Moon Smiling Face
2021
40x40cm, Drawing, Digital Inkjet, Total Edition: 30
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Sparkling Heart
2021
40x40cm, Drawing, Digital Inkjet, Total Edition: 30
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Sparkles
2021
40x40cm, Drawing, Digital Inkjet, Total Edition: 30
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Cherry Blossom
2021
40x40cm, Drawing, Digital Inkjet, Total Edition: 30
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Afterball #12
2015
40x50cm, Steel Etching Photogravure on 270gsm Magnani Pescia Grey paper, Total Edition: 5
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Afterball #26
2015
40x50cm, Steel Etching Photogravure on 270gsm Magnani Pescia Grey paper, Total Edition: 5
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Afterball #40
2015
40x50cm, Steel Etching Photogravure on 270gsm Magnani Pescia Grey paper, Total Edition: 5
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Afterball #114
2015
40x50cm, Steel Etching Photogravure on 270gsm Magnani Pescia Grey paper, Total Edition: 5
Selected Exhibitions
— 2022 —
Reborn in Spring: Wang Meiyi & Xiang Hao Two-Person Exhibition, Once Gallery, Beijing, China.
— 2017 —
Good Art, Taikang Space, Beijing, China.
— 2015 - 2016 —
Haptic & Optic Exhibition Series, Hangzhou/ Shenzhen/ Xiamen/ Shanghai/ Beijing, China.
Off Print London, Tate Modern, London, UK.
Turn the Page Book Art Fair, Norwich, UK.
Object of, CAFE Gallery, London, UK.
Distortion Portfolio, SGCI International Printmaking Conference, Knoxville, USA.
Secret RCA, Dyson Gallery, Royal College of Art, London, UK.
7th Artist’s Book Triennial Vilnius 2015, Vilnius, Lithuania; Leipzig, Germany.
— 2014 —
Performing Print-Bringing the Archive Alive, Multiplied Contemporary Editions Fair by Christie’s, London, UK.
Grafikedition Bentlage, Rathausgalerie, Kirn, Germany.
Ich gehe in den Wald, Kloster Bentlage, Rhine, Germany.
Yesterday’s Wrong Thinking, CAFE Gallery, London, UK.
Secret RCA, Dyson Gallery, Royal College of Art, London, UK.
RCA WIP Show, Henry Moore Gallery, Royal College of Art, London, UK.
— 2013 —
Guanlan International Print Biennial, Guanlan Original Printmaking Base, Guanlan, Shenzhen, China.
Student International Small Print Show, Art Center of El Minia University & Opera Art Gallery, Cairo/ El Minia, Egypt.
— 2012 —
Alberta Cultural Days, Rutherford House, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Quotationalism, FAB Gallery, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Print Affair: Silver & Gold, SNAP Gallery, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Bachelor of Design Graduate Show, FAB Gallery, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Sweat of Our Brow, Enterprise Square Gallery, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
— 2011 —
Print Affair: Paper Wonderland, SNAP Gallery, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Out of the Bag, Enterprise Square Gallery, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
— 2010 —
Narrative Explorations, Rutherford Library South gallery, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Art Fairs
— 2022 —
Affordable Art Fair, Once Gallery, Singapore.
Meiyi in the making, during her time at the Royal College of Art.
Photos of the creation of Afterball.
Wang Meiyi and Bai Xue (Founder of the Once Gallery).