East Meets West, Yang Liu

Conceived and designed with insight, acumen and her refreshing and entertaining graphic simplicity, Yang Liu’s (b. Beijing, 1976) sharp and bold pictograms explore prevailing differences and typical stereotypes on opposite sides of the globe with a keen and critical distance. At a graphic level, Yang Liu’s images are highly simple yet full of infinite associations and ideas worthy of reflection.

Yang Liu moved to Germany at the age of 13. She studied in Great Britain and worked as a graphic designer in Singapore, London, New York and Berlin, where she established her own design studio in 2004. She has been a lecturer and head of the communication design department at the BTK University of Applied Sciences in Berlin since 2010. Her work has been presented in solo and group shows throughout the world and in numerous major museums and galleries. Based on her personal experience, knowledge and respect of both cultures, Yang Liu explores a wide variety of differences between life in the East and in the West. These range from attitudes towards beauty, ownership, public space and how different cultures handle emotions. Thanks to its clarity and subtle humor, this small book allows us to better understand others without the use of endless words.

Yang Liu
East Meets West
Mainz: Verlag Hermann Schmidt, 2019
ISBN: 9783874397339
Multilingual edition: German, English, Chinese
100 pages