(b.1997) Codie Yan holds a BFA from the Visual & Performing Arts School of Syracuse University(USA).
She explores the essence of water through scanner-processed photographs. Stripped of color and dimensionality, these monochromatic images reveal unique textures composed of points, lines, and planes.
Her main practice centers on aquatic subjects, primarily the body of water from her hometown’s West Lake in Hangzhou and the Mediterranean Sea, which she regards as a spiritual home. Drawing inspiration from ripples captured across seasons and fleeting moments of days, Yan utilizes Chinese ink and Japanese watercolor (with mainly different shades of blue extracted from the water) to create calligraphic works that blur the boundary between text and imagery. These pieces serve as immediate responses to the profound emotions evoked within her by water, sometimes a sense of tranquility, and sometimes a tremor in turn.
Yan also works in performance, photography, collage, installation, and film. These works are deeply connected to human nature, body, and movements. Inspired by the ideology of Japanese Butoh dance and the fluidity of vernacular dances like swing and Tarantella, Codie’s work is imbued with strong emotions and examines the nature of power and how it is reflected through individual identities and traumas.
Codie Yan earned her BFA from Syracuse University. Her work has been exhibited at Light Work Photography Center, Three Shadows Photography Art Center, Syracuse International Film Festival, and Tank Art Center in Shanghai. In 2022, She had attended the Artist in Residence program at Three Shadows Photography Art Center in Xiamen, China. She had taken several voluntary residencies through friends, including a full-month residency in Siracusa, Sicily, in June 2025.
CV
codiey.studio@gmail.com
@codieatelier
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𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟮 𝘾𝙊𝘿𝙞𝙀 𝙀𝙢𝙥𝙩𝙮 𝙍𝙊𝙊𝙈 𝗦𝗼𝗹𝗼 𝗘𝗫𝗵𝗶𝗯𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗱𝗼𝘄𝘀 𝗣𝗵𝗼𝘁𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗵𝘆 𝗔𝗿𝘁 𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿, 𝗫𝗶𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗻, 𝗖𝗡
𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟮 𝗔𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲, 𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗱𝗼𝘄𝘀 𝗣𝗵𝗼𝘁𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗵𝘆 𝗔𝗿𝘁 𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿, 𝗫𝗶𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗻, 𝗖𝗡
𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟭 𝗣𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗧𝗼𝘂𝗰𝗵, 𝗧𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝗔𝗿𝘁 𝗙𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗮𝗹, 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗵𝗮𝗶, 𝗖𝗡
𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟬 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗣𝗵𝗼𝘁𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗵𝘆 𝗔𝗻𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗹, 𝗟𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸, 𝗦𝘆𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘂𝘀𝗲, 𝗡𝗬
𝟮𝟬𝟭𝟵 𝗕𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗯𝗶𝗿𝗱 𝗙𝗶𝗹𝗺 𝗙𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗮𝗹, 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗝𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗲, 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱, 𝗡𝗬
𝟮𝟬𝟭𝟵 𝗦𝘆𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗙𝗶𝗹𝗺 𝗙𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗮𝗹, 𝗦𝘆𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘂𝘀𝗲, 𝗡𝗬
𝟮𝟬𝟭𝟴 𝗙𝗶𝗹𝗺 𝗧𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘄𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗲, 𝗦𝘆𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘂𝘀𝗲, 𝗡𝗬
𝟮𝟬𝟭𝟳 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗡𝗬𝗖 𝗙𝗶𝗹𝗺 𝗙𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗮𝗹, 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗬𝗼𝗿𝗸, 𝗡𝗬
𝟮𝟬𝟭𝟳 𝗕𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗯𝗶𝗿𝗱 𝗙𝗶𝗹𝗺 𝗙𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗮𝗹, 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱, 𝗡𝗬
𝟮𝟬𝟭𝟳 𝗕𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗻 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗙𝗶𝗹𝗺 𝗙𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗮𝗹, 𝗕𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗻, 𝗠𝗔