XUE WANG was born in northern China in 1980, the year of the mischievous monkey. After a BA degree in Fashion in China at Lu Xun Academy of Fine Art in Shenyang she relocated to London aged 22 and to finish her MA at University of Westminster. Painting and drawing, playing around with ideas, juxtaposing images and allowing her imagination free reign have all helped guide her development. The self-reflective intimacy of art, which has always been latent in her, forced Xue's transition from fashion to painting. "My creative impulse is driven by a fascination with childhood paraphernalia: dolls, toys, fairy tales, stage sets, fun fairs, found objects mixed with whimsy. These personal recollections are complimented by the cultural heritage of Victoriana, vintage fashion, film iconography, pin-up imagery etc. We cannot escape the past and our sweet yesterdays, whether imagined or real, are my repository. Any search for particular meaning in my idiosyncratic work may not yield much. If one word were chosen to describe my paintings, it would be ‘edgy’. Superficially they may appear ‘cute’ but my intention is to unsettle, albeit subtly. As the creeping wasp on the fairy cake does." - Xue Wang