Ashmolean Eastern Art Online, Yousef Jameel Centre for Islamic and Asian Art

The printable impression is the essential nature and unique art vocabulary of printmaking. In water-soluble colour woodcut printing technique, the freedom and control of the printing process can produce a rich effect of dripping wetness, and generate a unique creative impact.

Ying Tianqi was a self-taught artist before taking a printmaking course at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in 1985. He began to exhibit his propaganda paintings during the 1970s. Since 1998 he has taught at Shenzhen University College of Art. Ying’s first claim to fame was with the Xidi Village series of water-soluble colour prints, which depict the traditional vernacular architecture of Xidi, Anhui province. He often uses wooden fibres, grains, papers and fabrics on plywood to create juxtaposed tones and texture in contrast with extensive plain black areas. His recent work uses various media such as printing from blocks of glass, and thereby extends the process of printmaking into a performance art.