The exhibition "UnBinding Bodies – Lotos Shoes & Corset" has successfully started in Museum MARKK in Hamburg. Please find here some impressions from the mise-en-scene – with exhibition graphics from Studio Wu 無 and spatial design by Caspar Pichner.
In times of social uncertainties and stiffening nationalism, the illustrated children's book „Wo kommst Du denn her?“ – published by Beltz publisher is a ray of hope. Together with the illustrators Diana Bobb (Austria) / Hanna Jung ( Ukrainian origin) / Beyza Tolgay (Turkish origin) , I had the chance to answer autobiographical questions about cultural identity, origin and life in Germany through illustrations. The result is a colorful, sensitive artistic book celebrating cultural diversity, with texts by Sonja Eismann / Naira Estevez (in German language).
Inspired by the traditional landscape painting art in China called Shanshui (Water & Mountain), this is a series of visuals for different cultural events. The colorful visuals have been created in papercut technique.
Unbinding bodies exhibition Studio Wu was honored to create the communication media including booklet and the exhibition graphic design of the exhibition „UnBinding Bodies – Lotos Shoes and Corset„ starting from 09.09.2022–26.02.2023 – in MARKK Museum Hamburg. The topic is the painful cultural practice of „footbinding“ in ancient China – intertwined with the complexity of European colonialism in China […]
project promoting the topic of biodiversity are the digital Actionbound Games "Life under Water/Leben unter Wasser" and "Life on Land/Leben an Land", for which Studio Wu has been commissioned by Goethe Institute China for the creation of illustrations/animations.
It’s a pity that we cannot travel easily to China since long, however the CHAI 拆 Festival from 25.–28.05.2022 in Leipzig brings you the latest movies from the middle country – with documentaries, short films and vivid (indie) movies.
This self-initiated project has arised through the urgent calling for peace are information graphics showing the cost of militarisation. They are a reaction to the German government's decision to raise the budget for military and defense up to 100 billions in 2022 and to spend up to 2% of the GdP in the future.
The Pop- Up Teahouse is a series of workshops, talks, performances and tea sessions – curated by cultural manager Katja Hellkötter and event manager/artist Lavia Lin, co-organized by Asia Berlin Forum. C*SPACE yard and studios have transformed into an informal cultural and social space for friends of the Asia Berlin community.
Bojing Font A1 Poster The A1 posters show specimenss of Chinese characters in the style of the modern Chinese script „Hanyi Bojingti 汉仪柏京体“. Stylistically, the font combines traditional Chinese calligraphy with geometric compositions à la Bauhaus. Printed in high-quality inkjet process, 180 g matt picture printing paper, 100% made in Berlin. Get an example of […]
Bojing Font A1 Poster The A1 poster shows over thousands of Chinese characters in the style of the modern Chinese script „Hanyi Bojingti 汉仪柏京体“. Stylistically, the font combines traditional Chinese calligraphy with geometric compositions à la Bauhaus. Printed in high-quality inkjet process, 250 g matt picture printing paper, 100% made in Berlin. Get an example […]
Yaotaos Zeichen Reiseheft A didactic creativity booklet which guides elementary school children through the lecture of “Yaotaos Zeichen” have been developed and designed in collaboration with Goethe Institut China with the target group of school children in China learning German as foreign Language. This travel book deals with the topics of migration, childhood during […]
The meaning of democracy Thomas Mann House and Goethe-Institut China brought three world-renowned thinkers into conversation with each other: Melissa Williams(University of Toronto), Rainer Forst (University of Frankfurt) and Zhao Tingyang 赵挺阳 (Chinese Academy of Social Sciences) discuss global justice and different understandings of democracy in light of their respective cultural contexts. Work: Visual Design, […]
Suomenlinna || Gropius This is a poetic and academic publication of artist-researcher and movement artist Paula Kramer. Her work explores intermateriality through site-specific, outdoor dance and movement. The two sites/sides of the book are Suomenlinna in Finnland and Gropius Bau in Berlin. Work: Book Design, 2020–2021 Format:~ Paperback – 180 pages Size: 16 x 16.4 cm ISBN: 978-1-913743-24-6, Triarchy […]
ChAI film FESTIVAL Cinema@HOME: Fluff up your sofa cushions and brew green tea already. Soon the doors will open online for CHAI. Chinesisches Filmfestival Leipzig, organized by Konfuzius-Institut Leipzig. From February 24 – February 27 2021 the festival delivered Chinese and international films about the Chinese world between tradition and modernity, urban spaces and rural life, creativity and controversies to you throughout whole Germany […]
China allerlei Poster design for the international day of the Confucius Institutes in Leipzig on Saturday, 26.09.2020 under the motto of China Allerlei the KUB gallery in Leipzig. The style is a reference to stamp art. Work: Poster Design & Postcards, 2020 Client: Confucius Institute Leipzig
2021 is gonna be better, with perseverance, patience and power from the metal ox, which helps us to overcome the difficult times...
KEEP WUHAN WALKING – interactive urban discovery Wuhan is more than Corona! The multimedia interplay of Keep Wuhan Walking Online Magazine – consisting of audio atmospheres, video impressions, reports, essays and scientific writings – guides you as strollers through Wuhan digitally – in front of the screen at home or on site in Wuhan. […]
KEEP WUHAN WALKING Out of a strong feeling of solidarity the CITYMAKERS CHINA GERMANY started the initiative “Keep Wuhan Walking” with the ‚MEMORY WALK MAP’– tool kit as part of it, that was first ideated by Khedidja Benniche and Lena Nafe, urban designers in London and Kopenhagen. The WUHAN MEMORY WALK MAP-Tool was just a […]
STADTMACHER KOFFER The STADTMACHER-Koffer is a toolkit designed by CITYMAKERS to deepen the dialogue between city-making enthusiasts from Europe and China engaged in the topic of liveable cities in the Chinese-European context. Based on many years of CITYMAKERS insights and our experience that context is the key to successful cross-cultural collaboration, the tools are designed […]
Many thanks to Silvan Hagenbrock – online editor, urbanist and film maker for Goethe Institute China – for the nice interview portrait feature in the Studio where I speak about design and bookmaking between China and Europe.
Lettering for Confuzius Institut Magazine Chinese and German lettering for the magazine back of Confucius Institute Magazine, a innovative and beautifully designed bilingual cultural magazine. The words of the lettering are related to the main topic of each issue like „Love“ or „Urbanization“. Work: Inc brush Lettering, since 2019 Client: Confucius Institute Leipzig
Citymakers Harvest celebrations Citymakers China-Europe is a network of cross-disciplinary pioneers who seek alternative ways to make cities ‚livable‘. Studio Wu 無 is glad to be the design partner of this program funded by Robert Bosch Stiftung, lead by CONSTELLATIONS since 2015. Now, 5 years funding is coming to an end and it’s time to harvest insights and celebrate […]
Les Caracteres Vivants – silkscreen edition On the colored silkscreen A1 posters from the series „Les Caractères Vivants“, you can find radiating Chinese and French characters. The beautiful typographic elements are taken from historical books and well-known Chinese magazines of the 20-40s fron the „Fonds Chinois“, a historical archive of the Institut Franco-Chinois in the […]
Studio Wu 無 is glad to be the design partner of this program funded by Robert Bosch Stiftung, lead by CONSTELLATIONS since 2015. Now, 5 years funding is coming to an end and we had two days of harvest insights and celebration in Berlin.
Northern lights are the motto of the cultural summer Rhineland-Pfalz 2020. 9 artists from Germany show their art sparring with 9 unknown Scandinavian works. Here you can see the creative dialogue with an oil painting by swedish artist Gunnar Nordström which resulted in a paper cut installation.
made in china – book illustrations In her latest book „Made in China“ (in German Language), the author Lea Schneider moves through six Chinese metropolises: Nanjing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Taipei, Chengdu and Beijing. This is the second creative collaboration between Lea Schneider and me as illustrator after „Chinabox“ for Verlagshaus Berlin. The drawings are inspired […]
Book Cover Illustration Cover illustration for the Chinese Studies book „Einstieg in die Chinastudien“, by the authors Thorben Pelzer and Merle Schatz, published by De Gruyter. Work: illustration, 2019 Client: East Asia Institute, Leipzig University
The second edition of the book "made in china" is out! We wanted you to like the book so much that the first edition is already sold out! Congratulations to the author Lea Schneider and our editor Verlagshaus.
Creative ladies from Asia, Europe, South America working in different fields gathered together at STUDIO WU 無 for a LADIES, WINE & DESIGN salon night and enjoyed an inspiring evening with great discussions on intercultural design and female empowerment.
Stadt- und landgeschichten Stadt- und Landgeschichten is a news blog which features different persons in China and Germany and their spe/acial relationship to places in their cities and the countryside. I am honored to be commissioned by the editors of Goethe Institute Beijing with the creation of a series of illustrations in urban skeching style. […]
I am very excited to bring back the story of „Yaotao’s Zeichen /里昂的汉字/ Les caractères vivants“ to the historical place where everything has begun – with a solo exhibition in Musée of Nouvel Institut Franco-Chinois in Lyon, France.
An Exhibition till November 11th, about „Heimat“ (engl.: Home) – an artistic sparring with artist Anja Roth in Atelier Rothpauser in beautiful wine village Sankt Martin (Rhineland-Palatinate) .
New Years Greetings 2019 – riso print edition Greeting Card for the year of the pig 2019 by Studio Wu 無, printed on Metapaper 120g. Technique: Typographic collage on Riso-Print with 3 soy-based colors | 2018/2019 Printer: Melomelo Print Neukölln
里昂的汉字 The Chinese Characters from Lyon The Chinese version of Yaotaos Zeichen – 里昂的汉字 is out now! With a new cover and bonus materials just for Chinese readers: 导读 review for parents by 陈香 CHEN Xiang and an additional chapter with historical background about the Institute Franco Chinois 中法大学。 In the 1930s the young man arrives […]
2018.2048 – Wie sehen unsere städte aus? Bookcover design for the comic project „2018 2048“ by Goethe Institute Beijing: illustrators from China and Germany where invited to draw their futuristic city views for the year 2048 based on photos of Beijing and Berlin from 2018. The pattern of the bookcover is a collage based on […]
A Sino-German Picture Salon in Berlin Rudolf11 Space hosted by Dooogs Berlin & Berlin and Studio Wu 無 with books from illustration teachers from Nanjing Fine Arts Institute and artists from Berlin attracted many booklovers.
Surrounded by the sound of morning birds, a group of citymakers gathered around 7am in Drahnsdorf in April, ready for an artistic discovery with the help of a booklet called „Reading the Traces of Places“.
25 years – Beijing Berlin learning cities map In cooperation with the Senate Chancellery of the Governing Mayer of Berlin within the framework of the „Promotion of Town Twinning Projects“, the STADTMACHER team lead by CONSTELLATIONS developed the „Berlin-Beijing Learning Cities Map“ between April and November 2018: What connects the cities? What are places […]
lektorenprogramm – Begegnungen Studio Wu 無 was entrusted with the redesign of the visual identity for „Lektorenprogramm in Asien“– a scholarship by Robert Bosch Foundation and the association Midost e.V. which enables young graduates from Germany to teach German and to realize self-organized projects at host universities in Eastern Europe and Asia for the […]
plant sinfonia – riso print edition Size: A3, printed on Metapaper 120g Technique: Inc illustration on Riso-Print with 3 soy-based colors | 2018 Printer: Melomelo Print Neukölln of Thomas Monses Limited Artist Edition of 30 pieces. All signed. Prize: 25 Euro each print, 80 Euros for a set of all 4 prints GET IT HERE […]
Mystical plants – riso book edition Size: 22cm x 10,5cm, 2 booklets with 22 pages each Paper: Biotop 130g Languages: Japanese, Chinese & German Technique: Inc illustration on Riso-Print with 3 soy-based colors | 2020 Binding: backstitch binding (handmade) Design & Illustration: Maki Shimizu & Yi Meng Wu Artist Edition of 70 pieces. Prize: 20 […]
No worries about Christmas gifts this year: Check out the new Etsy Shop of Studio Wu 無 with wonderful handcrafted illustrated prints & artistic limited editions – 100% made in Berlin with love!
Now the results are out: Yaotao's Zeichen has been awarded with Bonze of Joseph Binder Award 2018 by Design Austria.
Studio Wu 無 is glad to be part of the "10 Hiii Illustration Winners Exhibition – Follow your Heart" from 17th till 30th of November which took place in Jiangsu Art Museum Nanjing.
“From Goa with Love” is an illustrated travel journal that was created during our recent to India, capturing the beauty of Goa and the touching impressions of school children at the Shanti Niketan School.
For all nature lovers, now there’s a sino-german urban garden place in Berlin- Mitte! The intercultural urban farming demo is located in Max-Pflanzen Garden as of „Urban Farming Incubator“ – a project realized in the frame of CITYMAKERS China-Germany.
It was a great honor to be invited by the Goethe Institute China and the Nanjing Fine Arts Institute for the sino-german book design exhibition: „Das schöne Buch “ at the AMNUA-museum of Fine Arts Nanjing.
What’s the future of the drawing in the digital age? How can it come to life on a screen? A contribution for the „Shanghai Visual Art & Design Exhibition“ in the section "moving posters" in Liu Haisu Art Museum Shanghai.
A creative stamp workshop at the handcraft marché de Noël (christmas market) of the Franco-German Youth Office (FGYO) in Berlin
Robot arm Illustration as Cover for a publication by MERICS. Work: illustration, 2016 Client: MERICS Institute for China Studies
Studio Wu 無 is honored to be commissioned by XIAOMING – a renown design platform and online magazine in China for the redesign of their visual identity.
YAOTAOS ZEICHEN Yaotaos Zeichen/Yaotao’s Characters is a atmospheric journey back in time, written for both young and old. Lyon, France. In her grandparent’s attic, Lucie finds an old suitcase filled with mysterious Chinese characters. Does it belong to her great-grandfather Yaotao who emigrated from China to France? All of a sudden the characters begin […]
After more than four years of preparation, my next marathon-like book project „Yaotaos Zeichen“(Yaotao’s Characters) will be finally published by kunstanstifter publishers in September!
As a member of the Citymakers Germany-China program, I felt greatly honored to be part of the cultural delegation of our foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel on his 1 day journey to Beijing.
A sunny typographic day with the Design and Picture Editing Team of Confucius Magazine (Leipzig) in Berlin.
Dein Bild in meinem Auge The bilingual booklet „Dein Bild in meinem Auge/Your Image in My Eye“ documents a two day symposium about images in media about China and Germany with experts from both countries from academia andmedia institutions. The event was held in Robert-Bosch Foundation Berlin by Konfuzius Institute Heidelberg and the Institute of […]
luck & love 2017 A limited edition of typographic gift card for 2017 in linocut style. Work: 2016 Technique: linocut
Citymakers China – Germany 中徳城市创者 CITYMAKERS China – Germany/STADTMACHER China – Deutschland 中徳城市创者 aims at creating a transcultural network for livable cities. Co-initiated by Robert Bosch Foundation and CONSTELLATIONS, the program has been kicking-off with a first meet-up forum at the end of September 2016 in Berlin. Studio Wu has been commissioned with the […]
Illustration art for a bilingual anthology of 12 chinese contemporary poets with over 100 poems – translated and edited by Lea Schneider, published by Verlagshaus Berlin.
Media ambassadors Work: 20 illustration for articles in the publication 9 Years of Media Ambassadors Technique: drawing | 2016 Client: Robert Bosch Foundation * Communication Arts 2017 Illustration: Competition Shortlist * Hiii Illustration 2016 International Competition: Best of the Best (Commercial) & Jury Award
Mein Deutschland, mein China – 9 Years Media Ambassadors A fine book celebrating nine years of the „Media Ambassadors“ – a program initiated by the Robert Bosch Foundation. German journalists has spend 3 months in China during their scholarship as „Media Ambassador“ in local media institutions and vice versa. In this publication, the journalists reveal […]
TAIPEi NIGHT MARKET A silk-screen poster for 10 years anniversary of Kunstanstifter publishers. The scene is a memory of a visit together with the publishers on the night market in Taipeh. Work: 2016 Technique: drawing Client: kunstanstifter publishers
A drawing "walkshop" held in Studio Wu during the Sino-German Citymakers Meeting in September 2016 (by Robert-Bosch-Foundation).
A special exhibition place has been found for the mysterious Chinese and German objects at "Stiftung Warentest" Berlin.
Traditional chinese medicine Bettina Kneissl is a doctor for acupuncture and traditional chinese medicine. She wished a sophisticated design for her cabinet full of chinese treasures and was fond of ink illustration art which demonstrates chinese healing methods. Besides, Studio Wu has been working on the Webdesign as well as CI. Check it out here […]
It was a great honour to "represent" Germany with a multicultural perspective in "Taipei International Book Exihibition 2016".
Here are some impressions and creative outputs from a three hours "stamp book art"-workshop in Goethe Institute Taipei.
Happy Chinese New Year 2016 – the year of the ape!
the garden of poetry Work: illustration for the 10th anniversary of Verlagshaus J Frank – a berlin publishing house specialized on poetry and illustration art. Technique: ink painting | 2015 Client: Verlagshaus J Frank, Berlin
PRAXISBUCH: ROBERT BOSCH STIFTUNG Work: Illustration and bilingual lettering for a „guidebook“ for intercultural projects in the „China Trainee Program“ book of the Robert Bosch Stiftung. Technique: drawing with ink brush | 2014 Client: Robert Bosch Stiftung
CITY MAKERS WORKSHOP Work: illustrative wrap-up and facilitation of the Bosch Stiftung „City Makers“ workshop taking place in Shanghai and Berlin about finding new ideas and formats for sino-german urban collaboration projects. The workshop has been organized and by Constellations Shanghai. Technique: drawings | 2015 Client: Robert Bosch Stiftung / Constellations Shanghai
Many thanks to the chinese design platform "gtn9/古田路9号" for the detailed interview and online presentation (in Chinese).
MERICS TALENTPROGRAMME 2015 Visualisation of future visions about political and as business-related topics, written by young experts of Merics Talentprogramme 2015. Work: 2015 Technique: ink drawings Client: Merics Institute for China Studies
Bronze for Bojing! At the Hiii Typography Competition in the category Chinese Typeface:
hAPPY GOAT YEAR Work: illustration celebrating the year of the goat. Technique: collage | 2015
A Chinese Typeface with a German touch... Read the presentation about "Bojing Font" on Slanted Typography Blog
It was an honour to interview 70 years old Master Cheng Qirui 陈其瑞 – together with shanghai designer and typography Researcher Li Zhiqian 厉致谦 Colorphilosphy.
Paris toujours is winner of the GERMAN DESIGN AWARD 2015 in the category "books & calendars".
Paris toujours has been awarded with "Bronze" at the JOSEPH-BINDER-AWARD in the category "Book Illustration". Here are some impressions from the exhibition at DESIGN AUSTRIA – MQ, Vienna.
The Things are Us, We are the Things This long-term project deals with the theme of culturally coded objects. Ten mysterious but typical German everyday-life objects were brought to China and vice versa. These objects were temporarily ‘adopted’ by people in the respective foreign country who had their own ideas and imagination about the strange-looking […]
Archaeological Cloth Sculptures The dresses were created out of old clothes I found in my family’s wardrobe in Shanghai. Pyjamas, dresses, bedclothes, caps – every single piece is a mosaic of family history and reveals the 70s, 80s and 90s in China, a time of huge social transformation and style mixes. Fashion project 2008 Hand-sewn […]
Bojing Font 柏京体 In 2013, I had the honour of creating a complete handwritten Chinese font. The font contains about 7000 characters and is inspired by Bauhaus geometrical shapes and Chinese ancient calligraphy styles. „Bo“ means Berlin in Chinese, and „Jing“ stands for Beijing. “Jing” refers to the collaboration with Hanyi Fonts Beijing, the […]
Amicette Lettering on packaging design for a birth control pill by Aristo Pharma. Client: Peix Agency Berlin for Aristo Pharma
Confucius Institute Berlin 2010–2019 Since 2010, STUDIO WU 無 is responsible for the design of the annual programme brochure of the Confucius Institute Berlin. Each years booklet is accompanied by a visual series: paper cuts, Chinese typographic elements, drawings – all revealing symbols from cultural codes. Work: illustrative visual series, brochure design, 2010–2019 Client: […]
When a Wall meets a Stairway Contribution to the Asia Graphic Biennale in Shanghai in 2013 on the theme “discover!” The poster tells an architectural love story between a stairway from Berlin and a wall from Beijing.
Ancient An artist poster with a limited edition for Verlagshaus J. Frank, a publisher who focuses on illustration art and contemporary literature. This project is an intercultural collaboration between a German poet and an illustration artist with a Chinese background. Client: Verlagshaus J. Frank Berlin, 2011 Printed on silkscreen | limited artist edition of 25 […]
German Things, Chinese Things Poster for the exhibition of the project „The Things are Us, We are the Things“ at the Leipzig Confucius Institute, 2014 Client: Confucius Institute Leipzig
When a wall meets a stairway Poster series for Shanghai Biennial of Asia Graphic Design 2013 with the theme „discover!“ The poster tells a fictive long distance lovestory about a wall and a stairway. Technique: mixed collage & handwritten type | 2013
In der Schwebe 懸停 Poster for the exhibition „In der Schwebe 懸停“ at Confucius Institute Leipzig – an exhibition of young chinese artists living and working in Halle and Leipzig. Technique: calligraphy with chinese ink Client: Confucius Institute Leipzig 2014
Hidden Image/Das Bild hinter dem Bild 散点透视 Under the title “Hidden Images – 散点透视”, the University of Arts in Berlin invited artists and intellectuals from China to participate in a series of events in Berlin to discuss contemporary art in China. The visual identity of the event is based on the principle of shadow […]
Paris toujours Paris toujours is a personal “Carnet de Voyage” about Paris, a visual diary of my stays in the city of love and music in 2007, 2012 and 2013. The first part of the book is full of sketches made in the streets of the timeless quartiers from Saint-Germain to la Bastille, combined with […]
Hidden Images／Das Bild hinter dem Bild 散点透视 Under the title “Hidden Images/Das Bild hinter den Bild – 散点透视” the University of Arts in Berlin invited artists and intellectuals from China to participate in a series of events in Berlin to discuss contemporary art in China. The little book comprises the essence of the discussions […]
WUXI Helv Relics Museum Work: ink painting style illustrations & concept design, 2012-2013 Client: Tamschick Media + Space for ACCIONA Producciones y Diseno, S.A. (APD) It was a great experience to be part of the Tamschick & Media Team to work on this large format, interactive media installation for the Wu Kingdom Helv Relics Museum […]
Eight Stories/ACHT Geschichten 八个故事 This is a book project about my four grandparents in Shanghai. I asked each of them to tell me two short episodes about their lives: one from the past, the other one from recent years. These stories are full of huge contrasts that reflect the historical, social and cultural changes in […]
