Presented by Yuxuan Zhou, 2026.

View more recent works @alibiecila

Yuxuan Zhou London-based artist, illustrator, and researcher. Yuxuan Zhou's practice centres on poetic visual storytelling, working across sand drawing, comics, picture books, and artist books. Her recent work, created with coloured sand, captures overlooked poetic moments in everyday life. Through this, she seeks to reconnect with the material world and carve out a quiet, joyful space in contrast to the overwhelming virtual environment. Documentation sits at the core of her approach. Through everyday recording and immediate visual and verbal response to the surroundings, sensations and thoughts, Yuxuan uses these fragments as the starting point for her sand drawings, fashion illustrations and personal projects. While play operates as both method and visual language. She moves fluidly between materials, techniques, and styles, shifting tone and rhythm to articulate different narratives and emotional states. Having lived across China, Singapore, and the UK, and through her experience of working across languages, she is attentive to the gaps between meanings, where translation becomes unstable and open. She approaches image-making as a form of language, where different materials and mediums carry their own vocabularies and grammars, shaping how narratives unfold. Her work has received international recognition, including the Bologna Illustration Award, the 3x3 Illustration Awards (Merit, 2025), and the Penguin Cover Design Award (shortlisted, 2024). She has participated in London Fashion Week as a life drawing artist and teaches fashion illustration and life drawing at the University for the Creative Arts. She also presents her personal projects through Satsuki Press, a self-publishing project for comics, poetry, and artist books. She sees the book as a vehicle to deliver her ideas and works to a wider audience, and enjoys the craft elements when creating prints, zines and artist books.

Say Hi to me: hi@yuxuan-zhou.com

Presented by Yuxuan Zhou, 2026.

View more recent works @alibiecila

Exhibitions Solo 2022 Flow Fashion, Northern Fashion Week, Manchester, UK 2021 Fashion, Research, Inspiration and Illustration, Constance Howard Gallery, London, UK Group 2026 Bologna Illustration Award, Bologna, Italy 2025 Drawing Human, XYZ Gallery, London, UK 2025 孤岛撤离计划, 软果银, Hangzhou, China 2023 Precious Postcards, That Art Gallery, Bristol, UK 2023 FIDA in Paris: Battle of Versailles 50th Anniversary, Paris, France 2023 FIDARTS 3rd Summer Exhibition, online 2021 Fashion Narratives, Constance Howard Gallery, London, UK Artist Books / Zine Events 2026 Bristol Artist Book Event, UWE Fine Art studios, Bristol, UK Duplicate Publishing Fair, Eastside Project, Birmingham, UK Outland Publishing Fair, Copeland Gallery, UK 2025 Brighton Artist Book Fair, Phoenix Art Space, Brighton, UK Book Art Day, Kentish Town Congregational church Hall, London, UK 2024 Outland Publishing Fair, White City Warehouse, London, UK Over Here Zine Fest, People's History Museum, Manchester, Uk Illustrator's Fair, Granary Square, London, UK Small Press Day, Cartoon Museum, London, UK 2023 Illustrator's Fair, Granary Square, London, UK 2022 Illustrator's Fair, Granary Square, London, UK PageMasters Zine Fair, South London Gallery, London, UK South London Zine Fair, Deptford Does Art, London, UK

Awards 2026 Bologna Illustrators Exhibition, Winner 2025 Hiii Illustration International Award, Best of the Best 2025 3x3 Illustration, Merit Award 2024 Penguin Cover Award (Children’s Book Category), Shortlist 2024 FABPrize Illustration Category, Second Place 2023 iJungle Illustration Awards, Merist Award 2022 Hiii Illustration International Award, Finalist Fashion 2025 FIDA 11th Award, Shortlist 2024 FIDA 10th Award, Shortlist 2023 FIDA in Paris Poster Competition, Winner 2023 FIDA 7th Award, Commendation Artist 2023 FIDA 6th Award, Finalist 2020 FIDA SS20, Shortlist 2020 DrawFashion Competition, 2020 Features Penguin Books reveals the Cover Design Award 2024 shortlist, Creative Boom Academic Writing 2023 On the Western myth of Takarazuka fantasy: Japanese women playing men and Westerners on stage. dObras, no.38.