Artist Interview: Yali He

Yali He is a plant artist and a seasoned creative professional with many years of experience in an advertising company. She began her journey into plant art in 2018, drawing inspiration from Impressionism in her artistic exploration.

Yali He is a plant artist and a seasoned creative professional with many years of experience in an advertising company. She began her journey into plant art in 2018, drawing inspiration from Impressionism in her artistic exploration.

Yali founded the plant aesthetics studio “Wilderness Planting.” Her works express the connection between people and nature through the exploration of plants and the natural world.

Growing up in the mountains, Yali developed a deep connection with nature. After working in Shanghai for several years, she moved to Hangzhou, where her surroundings, filled with plants, reignited the connection from her childhood.

In her artistic practice, Yali often sketches illustrations on draft paper and notebooks. Since 2016, her love for plants has gradually led her to create and explore works related to them.

Her experience in creative roles at an advertising agency taught her to observe her surroundings with keen eyes, discovering interesting things within.

Yali’s daily creative materials include discarded branches, wilting flowers, and leaf veins. In her view, every plant possesses its unique beauty and posture; even the unassuming stems and leaf veins hide a little “big” world within them. By incorporating plants into her paintings, she aims to capture beauty on canvas, allowing withered life to be reborn and enabling these long-existing elements to be gazed upon and appreciated anew.

Yali believes that nature itself is a utopia, existing before human intervention. This theme is central to her work as she explores how human influence can both damage and engage with nature, invoking a deeper feeling for the natural world and using human power and emotion to create a utopia.

In her artwork, Yali documents the textures of nature, enjoying the incorporation of dried plants into her pigments, allowing natural materials to become part of the imagery. Nature serves as the source of all her creations, providing her with endless inspiration. Through her engagement with nature, she seeks to understand and weave her emotions into it, resonating with others.

Yali hopes that future natural environments will improve, with people showing greater respect for nature. She believes that art allows individuals to reconnect with and appreciate nature, making the construction of a utopia possible.

Her current work focuses on nature, beauty, and life, aspiring for humanity to sustain a deeper awareness of nature and the environment as they feel this vitality. Future projects will delve more into humanity’s impact on nature and the environment.

Yali He believes that all emotions are universal, and her works need no words. Plants serve as her outlet for expression and a reflection of her inner feelings. She hopes that her passion, solitude, and quietness can be perceived and seen by others.

Amidst the current environmental crisis, Yali aims to recreate nature through her art, encouraging people to reassess familiar surroundings and awaken a renewed gaze toward the natural world.

Exhibition Experience:

2023: Anaya Jinshanling Artist-in-Residence, Beijing

2019: “Today’s Blossoms,” Shanghai – Participating Artist

2019: “Creative Shapes,” Shanghai – Participating Artist

2020: Solo Exhibition, “Silent Whispers, the Monologue of Plants”

2021: Shanghai Menwai Art Museum – Participating Artist

2022: “Attentionism,” Shanghai Art Museum – Participating Artist