Immerse yourself in a surreal world of dogs and cats, pottery and painting, with a great hand-drawn animated film at its heart.
If you’re in London between now and 4 November and need a jolt of inspiration, why not swing by the Pocko Gallery at 51A King Henry’s Walk to take in Qian-Hui Yu’s solo exhibition, The Delightful Unnamed? The Chinese animator, now based in Stoke-on-Trent, has assembled a collection of artworks that connect various threads in her creativity, ideas and inspiration.
The centrepiece is her recent animation, ‘The Statue in the Garden’, a short film created with Animate Projects and supported by the BFI Network and Film Hub Midlands, which has been touring film festivals across the UK and around the world. It’s the perfect way to acquaint yourself with Qian’s hand-drawn, frame-by-frame animation style – a look that’s individual to the artist and perfect for the personal nature of the story.
“The story is rooted in my own experience after I moved to Stoke-on-Trent,” says Qian. “I didn’t know anyone at the time, so I wrote this story, and in it, the main character ends up travelling through time. Researching the scenes helped me to understand the history of Stoke, and how the character was able to deal with her own fears also helped me to find a sense of belonging in my new surroundings, in a way.”
Guests enjoying the screening the private view.
The story of the Potteries comes to the fore via a little statue of a dog. While developing the story and aesthetic for her film, Qian actually sculpted the dog, which was based on one in the British Museum that had come to this country as a gift from one of the Han emperors in China.
“I remade this dog in my home studio and had it fired in an Anagama wood-fired kiln in Oxford,” says Qian. “I find ceramics fills the gap in my creativity that animation can’t. Both are made by hand, but ceramics are something I can make in real life. It teaches me many things – that making art can be practical, experimental, organic, quiet but expressive.”
The pottery connection continues with a series of mixed-media works created during Qian’s residency at ACAVA Spode, the historic pottery factory in Stoke. These include collage and ink paintings. “I was exploring new materials and wanted to focus more on graphic design before making them into animations. They are all very experimental, and I hope they can help reshape my visual language in general,” says Qian.
Throughout the posters, prints, illustrations and collage work, you may notice a recurring character. Qian loves drawing cats, and most of the cats she creates are based on her own pet Chuko. “She is the queen of my family,” says Qian. “When I want to test a new technique or just draw for practice, I open my photo album, and Chuko always comes to the top. She’s my natural model and my precious friend.”
The Statue in the Garden, Qian’s Stoke-on-Trent explorations and all the related artworks have helped fire Qian’s creativity across a variety of projects over the last year or so. Watch out for her bag collection, a book cover illustration, and some soon-to-be-revealed artist collaborations. The Statue in the Garden is also set to feature at the London International Animation Festival 2025, taking place 25 November to 7 December at venues in the city and online.
