Description

Xinyi Yang (b.1999) is a Chinese artist and maker based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Xinyi has been studying art theory since childhood within China’s art examination-based education system. She has explored various artistic techniques including printmaking, digital painting, sculpture, embroidery, Chinese painting and calligraphy. Her first degree was in fine art at Hubei University in Wuhan, and she followed this with a master’s in graphic design from Edinburgh College of Art in 2022.

Xinyi Yang is responding to Jill Smith’s Zodiac Journey. She has made bookmarks that invite the user to create a personal ritual with a piece of Scotland’s natural landscape. The bookmarks are made with handmade rice paper and Scottish seaweed and are imprinted with a zodiac symbol. The maker invites the owner to use the bookmark while they read their book, then write the name of the book on the bookmark once finished and bury it in their garden or houseplants to fertilise the soil. The tassel, inspired by traditional Chinese bookmarks, can be kept as a symbol of the ritual.

Future Makers

Exclusive collaborations with local makers responding to our creative programme

Future Makers is a mentoring programme investing in the future of eco-conscious making, selling and buying. The makers are Ames Truscott, Emma Gibson, Eva Sneddon, Szofia Jak, Morven Mulgrew, Holly Allen, Jen Stewart, Rachel Ashcroft, Rosa Park, Second Cashmere, The Unravelling and Xinyi Yang. They will be supported over 12 months to create bespoke designs that respond to Fruitmarket’s exhibitions and events programme with products that are sustainably produced.