We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Yanque Yip a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Yanque thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

My most meaningful project to date is a 720 square feet mural that I did to highlight the parish that I was born and raised in. This mural was created over a 6 weeks span and is on a wall that was erected in the middle of the parish capital called Mandeville. I designed this mural after researching the parish and it’s history. I identified some of the icons and heroes that were born in the parish. This included some individuals that are renowned for great things that they did to develop and represent the parish and the country. The design was created in January 2022 and the mural was painted in July 2023. I actually created this mural as my first project after deciding to do art full-time instead of part-time. This mural highlights different aspects of the parish such as it’s natural resources, landmarks and activities. The mural has received significant love and I appreciate the feedback from the viewers who are able to understand the imagery and relate to the composition.

Yanque, 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?

My name is Yanque Yip. I am a professional Jamaican Visual Artist that specializes in the designing & creation of :

MURALS
CANVAS PAINTINGS
LIVE PAINTINGS
SPEED PAINTINGS

I have created murals across the island of Jamaica to celebrate our Jamaican culture, heroes and icons. My aim is to create paintings that interact with the viewer impactfully and meaningfully through a combination of beauty and brilliance.

I discovered my ability to draw well very early and I was encouraged by my family, classmates and teachers to create more as they were impressed by what I created in sketchbooks that I would save my lunch money to buy as early as primary school years. Art was also a way to express myself intellectually and imaginatively. My mother, Gaynell Spencer was significant in the development of my early understanding of 3-Dimensions because of the fact that she showed me how to draw a truck using cuboids. This unlocked something early on and I remember this moment very clearly to this day. I was introduced to poster competitions as early as primary school days and I participated in art competitions straight through to high school. I was able to win some of these competitions.

My use of my artistic skills to generate income came after realizing that I needed to make ends meet as I was in my late teens and also about to start university. I was hired to paint on business places in my community. I created ‘murals’ before I was familiar with the term, I painted graphics on buildings and started doing canvas portraits and paintings. My first commission in the community was a result of my uncle, Rory Carridice, boasting to his associates in the community about my artistic abilities. I impressed the individual that owned the business and this created a chain reaction that would see me gaining access to greater projects because individuals shared the knowledge of my skills with others. I was encouraged by my aunt, Jillian Carter, to use my name as my brand. This is why my brand is “YanqueYipART”.

Outside of the business aspect of my art, I really have a more intimate relationship with science and philosophy that takes form in my canvas pieces. I am currently working on a body of work which really has been my life’s journey from early years, even before I realized that I was consistently tapping into something artistically unique that would form apart of my artistic identity. I can see that these works through the years are truly genuine expressions of my innermost inquiries on a scientific level in the form of questions about the higher “dimensions”, principles of reality and even the soul of man (myself). I am not an artist that is satisfied by aesthetics as much as I am about the infinite power of information and inquiry that I can encode in my paintings, designs and in a mural commission when it is appropriate.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist/creative is the joy of “honestly expressing myself”. The works that I create are direct products of who I am or even extensions of my being captured in time. There is nothing more satisfying than seeing a work that I did at a particular phase in my experience and being able to reflect on that time. It is often said that a picture is worth a thousand words. I am able to encapsulate many levels of inquire such as geometry, philosophy and esoteric information into a piece that I have realized is beneficial to a future version of myself. I have pieces that are essentially pictorial mantras much like the Egyptian hieroglyphs. These works are outlets/expressions of my Polymath mind.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

Personally, I create art through an investigative and introspective approach. The art that I create originates from an innate place. Many times, I am encouraged to “do like” another creative by an onlooker with the idea that I could hop onto a trend or use the template to draw attention to myself. This is often shared through good intention by this onlooker. However, I have always prioritized authenticity in my creative process. The world can be crowdy and redundant at times. This can often prevent one from performing honestly and losing their genuine identity. I am not sure for any other artist but I would actually be better off not being coached into my creative process. This often prevents an artist from creating the work that connects at the heart.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yanqueyipart
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yanque.yip
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yanqueyip
• Twitter: https://x.com/YanqueYip
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@yanqueyipart
• Other: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ksGqRG_Znne7iBVz_X3riqEFd8N3mj5h/view?usp=sharing