Meet Aiyi Cheng

We had the good fortune of connecting with Aiyi Cheng and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Aiyi, why did you pursue a creative career?
I didn’t really choose to be an artist, it was just the only way I knew how to make sense of things. Growing up between Beijing and California, I was always translating between languages, feelings, and worlds. Making became a way to hold those shifts, to turn fear or confusion into something tangible.

I’m drawn to materials that feel alive: sharp metal, soft hair, sound, skin. They push back, they speak. Modeling extends that same conversation; my body becomes both subject and surface, where emotion meets distortion.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My work moves between vulnerability and control. I make installations, performances, and sound pieces that explore what it means to find comfort inside fear, how tension, intimacy, and protection can coexist in one body. I often use materials that react or resist, like metal, hair, and sound. They carry emotion and memory in ways that words can’t.

What makes my practice unique is how personal it is. I use my own body as both subject and medium, whether through sculpture or modeling, and that allows me to blur the line between self-expression and observation. Modeling, to me, isn’t separate from my art. It’s another space where emotion meets distortion, where stillness can say as much as movement.

The path hasn’t been easy. I moved from Beijing to California when I was fourteen, and that experience of displacement shaped everything I do. It taught me how to translate between different languages, cultures, and versions of myself. Every challenge became a way to build new forms of connection.

What I’ve learned along the way is that creation isn’t about perfection, it’s about transformation. My work is a constant process of turning fear into form, and form into something shared.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
When friends visit, I always take them to the east side, Silverlake just has this balance of calm and energy that I love. We’d start the day at Gong Gan, my favorite café with soft morning light and good waffles and matcha. Dinner would be at Bacari Silverlake, their mocktail Waste Not, Want Not is my favorite thing on the menu.

I love going for hikes and swimming in the hills, then spending the afternoon at galleries such as Night Gallery or David Kordansky Gallery. On weekends, I’ll grab Salt & Straw (Coffee Loves Nuts flavor is my fav) and end the night dancing with friends at some underground techno spot.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
There are so many people who have shaped the way I see and create. I’d first dedicate this shoutout to my professors and peers who’ve encouraged me to stay true to my process, especially during moments of uncertainty. At both ArtCenter and RISD, I’ve been surrounded by people who challenge comfort and push boundaries, and that energy has deeply influenced my work.

I also owe a lot to my creative friends and collaborators, artists, designers, and photographers, who’ve shared their vulnerability and trusted me with theirs. Every conversation, every shoot, every shared idea has become part of my language.

And lastly, my mom and my boyfriend. Their quiet support has always given me the space to explore who I am, even when they didn’t fully understand what I was doing.

Website: https://ay266.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ay266/

Image Credits
Personal Photo credit to: @sophialivmaguire