麦扬个展
A solo exhibition byYang Mai:
怀抱 (Hold Me in Your Arms): 在非洲 - Held by Africa
Exhibition dates: January 2024 - Ongoing
Venue: Erdemann School, Laikipia Rd, Kileleshwa, Nairobi, Kenya
Press
"Transcultural Dialogues on Identity, Individuality, and Freedom of Expression — Yang Mai's East Africa Solo Exhibition, "Hold Me in Your Arms: Held by Africa"", Artron, March 15, 2024
“自由、自我与身份的跨文化表达——麦扬东非个展《怀抱(Hold Me in Your Arms): 在非洲-Held by Africa》”雅昌, March 14, 2024
怀抱 (Hold Me in Your Arms): 在非洲 - Held by Africa, 2023-24
怀抱 (Hold Me in Your Arms): 在非洲 - Held by Africa, 2023-24
怀抱 (Hold Me in Your Arms): 在非洲 - Held by Africa, 2023-24
怀抱 (Hold Me in Your Arms): 在非洲 - Held by Africa, 2023-24
怀抱 (Hold Me in Your Arms): 在非洲 - Held by Africa, 2023-24
怀抱 (Hold Me in Your Arms): 在非洲 - Held by Africa, 2023-24
怀抱 (Hold Me in Your Arms): 在非洲 - Held by Africa, 2023-24
怀抱 (Hold Me in Your Arms): 在非洲 - Held by Africa, 2023-24
怀抱 (Hold Me in Your Arms): 在非洲 - Held by Africa, 2023-24
Press Release
新闻稿
Yang Mai Solo Exhibition: 怀抱 (Hold Me in Your Arms): 在非洲 - Held by Africa
Exhibition date: January 2024 - Ongoing
Venue: Erdemann Chinese School, Laikipia Rd, Kileleshwa, Nairobi, Kenya
To celebrate artist Yang Mai's six-month experience in Nairobi, Kenya, this long-term exhibition features his large-scale installation created in Africa.
Mai's art practice has been marked by an exploration of identity, freedom of expression, and beauty norms, topics that have garnered discussion across the United States, China, and beyond. Since July 2023, Mai has moved to Nairobi to continue his artistic journey by creating a new body of work inspired by the search for the joy of nature and intricate cultural relationships.
'怀抱 (Hold Me in Your Arms): 在非洲 - Held by Africa', created in 2023-24, is the latest and fourth edition of the '怀抱 (Hold Me in Your Arms)' series, created in 2021 for the first time. In Mai’s Nairobi studio, he transformed over 200 Chinese school uniforms, sourced from hustle Kenyan markets, into a majestic, suspended structure. Some uniforms, a canvas of personal narratives - names, ambitions, secret yearnings, and defiant doodles - subtly rebel against the stitched school slogans that echo a monotonous chorus of conformity. Through filling, connecting, and stitching, Mai’s work blends local elements with his signature reinterpretation of functional industrials, bridging dialogues on identity and societal structures.
Support By
Project Coordinator: Zhenzhen Guan
Artist Assistant: Simon Mutua
Installing Team: Simon Mutua, Samuel Onyango, Victor Riziki, Wilberforce
Photo: Huiqin Hu
Sponsor: Chi Yang, Erdemann Chinese School
Copywriter: Zhenzhen Guan
Story by the artist Yang Mai