Ya Chin’s paintings offer a window into alternate worlds with their own reality and logic; places where tea eggs take baths, orchids grow from a jar of chili sauce, or three clementines skip rope in the afternoon. The painting is a starting point for anyone to enter this new universe, free to imagine and discover the lands beyond the edges of the canvas.
This world building starts with Ya Chin collecting and finding objects from her life. Maybe a toy from her childhood or a pastry from the local bakery. She takes the objects and plays with them, resulting in arrangements which she then paints from observation. The results are realistic playful still lifes with fantastical narratives. The scenes may feature fleeting feelings, seemingly inconsequential moments, or pivotal experiences that we all share. She hopes to bring herself and the viewer to absurd and whimsical universes to explore the human condition.