Fan
Bangyu

Fan Bangyu, born in Xi’an and currently based in London, graduated from the Slade School of Fine Art in 2024. They are a cross-disciplinary artist whose practice spans installation, sculpture, image, sound, and writing. Through a dialogic approach, their work explores multifaceted propositions surrounding time, language, and perception, while also investigating how to draft a nonlinear narrative novel through visual, auditory, and olfactory means. Whether working with directly appropriated readymades, kiln-fired or deconstructed and reassembled objects, or textual fragments, their pieces embody complexity and metaphor. These materials appear to be gathered from the unnoticed corners of contemporary society, forming a narrative charged with the power of the present moment. For Fan, they function as tangible “evidence” of time and space—sometimes posing poetic questions, and at other times taking the form of stark allegories.

Their fascination with readymades and sculptural forms creates a connection that traverses time and space, as the materials used bring forth a sense of precision in feeling. Through re-contextualisation, their work develops new narratives hidden within elements such as love, desire, obsession, symmetry, and ritual—becoming fragmentary gazes into memory and imagination.

They are drawn to events deemed as “history,” particularly in how these events rupture and infiltrate the present—resonating like aftershocks between the antennas of modern industry and the permanently paused hard drives of forgotten narratives. Fan seeks to explore the topography of sound and its relationship to space and time, approaching it as a vessel for sonic experience, auditory illusion, and memory.

Their sound practice aims to construct a space where chaos and noise unfold in layered forms—generating tension within the web of sonic experimentation. They strive to disrupt the balance of familiar tonal landscapes, inviting listeners to question inherited notions of harmony and melody.

Their work has been exhibited in cities including London, Seoul, Beijing, and Shanghai. Recent projects include a dual exhibition in London, as well as presentations and performances at Cafe OTO, Set, Barbican Arts Group Trust, KOPPEL Collective, and the London Design Festival. Upcoming projects include several group exhibitions in London, a solo presentation in Shanghai (2026), and other site-specific initiatives.