We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Xinyue Chen. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Xinyue below.

Xinyue, appreciate you joining us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

One of the most meaningful project to me is my picture book “The Big Girl”, which has won recognitions in AI-AP, Communication Arts, 3×3 and other competitions. The story centers on a girl whose body kept growing bigger and bigger, which brought her many difficulties in life. But she eventually broke free at the end of the book, and let her body grow freely till she became the size of the sky. This book is based on my experience of growing up as a woman and facing many restrictions and pressure about my body and my behaviors. By picturing this hopeful ending, I hope this book would bring a sense of freedom to the readers.

Xinyue, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am an illustrator, book artist, and tattoo artist based in New York. My art practice centers on memories and emotions through different types of media. Although I used to work in the Fine Arts field, I discovered I have more passion for narrative-driven arts, especially book arts. I’ve been creating picture books since 2020, and have completed several books with original writings and illustrations. And I’ve also created many illustrations for book covers, magazines, albums and other uses. My works have been in exhibitions in both the US and China.
My tattoo practice also originates from my paintings and books. Throughout years, I’ve built a great following on social media and clientle for my unique illustrative tattoos.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

My goal is always to provoke emotions in the viewers with my art, remind them of their own experiences and memories. That’s why in many of my illustrations and books, the characters appear to be universal or anonymous. I wish for my art to be a door that lead the viewers into themselves.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

I think we need more people to understand that creative works are just the same hard works as other jobs, and it does not come easy for us because of “talent”. Artists and creatives should be compensated fairly for their works. In current times, image-generating AIs are threating many artists’ livings, using their works that took many years of practice to develop without any restrictions or compensations. I believe we need more legal protections against using AI-generated images for commercial uses in order to protect the artists’ rights.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.maiyashu.art
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/maiyashu
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/xinyue-chen-523ba527a/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/Maiyashu_Art