MDes Graphic Design/Illustration/Photography School of Design
Yuerong Zeng
YueRong Zeng (Ivy) is an illustrator from Shenzhen, China. Ivy has a broad academic background, having previously focused on ceramics and lacquer art. She now mainly works in paper-cutting and illustration, using various media to explore inventive and expressive visual languages. Her work primarily focuses on botanical paper-cuts, sports illustration, and the exploration of queer themes. A recent graduate from the Illustration programme at the Glasgow School of Art (GSA), she showcased Queerd-o in the MDes Illustration degree show — a project that investigates queer identity through the entanglement of societal frameworks and individual perception.
Projects
Queerd-o
As an Asian queer, I navigate identity through continuous cycles of construction, deconstruction, and reconstruction of the self.
This project consists of three pieces — Self-doubt, Hiding, and They — each embodying a unique emotional stage within the queer experience.
“Self-doubt” feels like being submerged underwater, where multiple versions of myself struggle and conflict within.
“Hiding” captures the struggle of navigating tangled spaces, searching for refuge and a way to escape.
“They” embody the fluidity of nonbinary identity, embracing the freedom to be anyone without conforming to others’ expectations.
