Xiangying Chen

Xiangying Chen
2 April to 2 May 2026

Studio open to the public on Monday and Saturday

During residency at Uillinn, London-based artist and PhD candidate Xiangying Chen will develop The Borrowing Library of Belonging, a participatory project inviting visitors to share a single word or short phrase about home, being an outsider, or belonging. These contributions will be displayed and gradually rearranged in the studio, forming an evolving artwork that reflects how people in West Cork think about connection, identity and community. Rather than collecting physical objects, the project treats language as something that can be borrowed, held and shared.

This residency connects closely to Xiangying’s wider artistic research, which explores how young adults from the Global South who relocate to the Global North negotiate identity, belonging and cultural adaptation. Her work looks at how belonging is not fixed, but continuously shaped through lived experience, relationships and everyday moments. At Uillinn, she extends her practice of tactility into the realm of language, using words as a light, temporary and reconfigurable material for thinking together.

Community connection is at the heart of the residency. People can take part informally at their own pace, through conversations in the studio, drop-in interactions, workshops with community or school groups, an Open Studio Day and an artist talk. The project is designed to feel welcoming, gentle and low-pressure, making participation accessible to everyone.

Xiangying Chen is a London-based Chinese artist and PhD candidate at Chelsea College of Arts, University of the Arts London. Her practice explores belonging, negotiations and the emotional landscapes of relocation, with a particular focus on young adults from the Global South who move to the Global North. Working with participatory and tactile artworks, she develops gentle, relational encounters that consider how connection, care and uncertainty are continually reshaped. Her work has been presented at 87 Gallery (Hull), Hypha Studios (London) and COP_ART26, and she has been recognised as a Highly Commended artist in the Homiens Art Prize.

chenxyarts

Artist Quote
“Perhaps home is not a place but simply an irrevocable condition.” — James Baldwin

Image: Echoes of Collisions 2024, Resin puzzle forms that invite assembly but resist completion, exploring how lives meet and misalign. Shown at Hypha Studios. Photo: Carlo Zambon

Uillinn: West Cork Arts Centre acknowledges the financial support of The Arts Council  / An Chomhairle Ealaíon in making these residencies possible.