Yuyao Li

My project, The Happiness Apartments, challenges the common assumption that accumulation is simply a behavior that needs to be corrected. Through a humanistic perspective and research into the emotional meanings of possessions, I began to understand accumulation as a complex relationship between objects, memory, identity and personal security. The project was inspired by repeated conversations with my friends, through which I discovered that many of us have habits of collecting certain objects, including things that may have little practical value. Although these objects may appear unnecessary to others, they can provide comfort, happiness, familiarity and a sense of identity to the people who keep them.

When you have a refrigerator that can pause time
Will you feel happiness？

Inspired by Jorge Luis Borges’ The Lottery in Babylon, this project explores the relationship between chance, fate and control. I imagined a surreal Babylon where every aspect of life is governed by an unpredictable lottery, transforming Borges’ philosophical ideas into a visual world of absurdity, uncertainty and dark humour.

A collection of spontaneous drawings made while walking, documenting everyday observations, fleeting moments and the small details that might otherwise go unnoticed.

Everyone has their own preferences and standards

The secret to delicious ingredients is having little elves casting spells on them.