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Aowen Jin is a Chinese-born British artist and social commentator.

Early life

Aowen Jin was born in Luoyang, Henan in China. She moved to the United Kingdom as a student when she was 18, and initially studied Law & Economics at Durham University. After rediscovering a passion for art she switched to studying Fine Art at Goldsmiths, University of London. During her degree she was commissioned to produce painting works for British Prime Minister Tony Blair and for Queen Elizabeth II's 80th Birthday, and was named by both Dazed & Confused magazine and The Times Magazine as one of the UK's top emerging artists. Aowen was part of Goldsmith's graduate exhibition at Free Range Shows in 2006, titled "Textile Collective".

Sound Fountain

In 2013, Jin was commissioned by Goldsmiths, University of London to produce an artwork for the first official visit of British Chancellor George Osborne and London Mayor Boris Johnson to Beijing. For the commission she produced a live "Sound Fountain", made of common British garden equipment, which danced to sounds that were transmitted live from various locations around London. The artwork was exhibited in Beijing's 798 Art Zone.

Light artworks

In early 2015, Jin announced that she would be creating an permanent exhibit called "i18n" at the Horniman Museum, launching in February 2015, made up of invisible paintings that could only be seen under UV light. On announcing the exhibition at the museum she said: "The founder of the museum had the most extensive collection of Chinese tea artifacts in the world. He tried to bring Chinese culture and lives back to Britain through objects and steam ships. I will try bring them to the local community by using gods and technology."

Following this project, Jin was commissioned by Birmingham Hippodrome and Arts Council England to use artworks to engage with Birmingham's Chinese community. Her artwork, named "Midlight", was an interactive light show that reacted to sound and posts on Twitter. It was exhibited at Birmingham Hippodrome, Birmingham Cathedral, and Thinktank, Birmingham Science Museum in late 2015, culminating in a Chinese New Year show at the Cathedral in February 2016.

In 2016 it was announced that Jin was selected for that year's Museums at Night project, where a new light artwork would be shown in a UK museum chosen by the public.

Recognition

She was recognized as one of the BBC's 100 women in 2013 and also in 2014.

References

1. "Artist Aowen Jin on Radio 4 "Woman's Hour"". Goldsmiths, University of London. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
2. "Aowen Jin – Biography".
3. "Goldsmiths student commissions for Tony Blair and the Queen". Goldsmiths.
4. "贺英女王80寿辰 英国华夏文化协会赠万针绣". Xinhua. Archived from the original on 1 February 2016. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
5. "Aowen Jin – Press". Retrieved 30 November 2014.
6. "Free Range Shows | Textile Collective". Retrieved 2 June 2015.
7. "London Mayor attends education exhibit at Beijing art district". Sino-US. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
8. "London Mayor Boris Johnson launches london.cn in Beijing". CCTV. Archived from the original on 1 May 2018. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
9. "London Mayor Boris Johnson launches london.cn in Beijing". ECNS.
10. "Aowen Jin Presents Ink Paintings Only Visible Under UV Light". ArtLyst.
11. "Aowen Jin's Horniman Museum UV Art Launch". Neehao. Archived from the original on 14 February 2015. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
12. "i18n". Aowen Jin.
13. "Midlight at Birmingham Hippodrome". Birmingham Hippodrome. Archived from the original on 5 March 2017. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
14. "Birmingham Hippodrome & British-Chinese Artist Aowen Jin Partnering for New Exhibit 'Midlight'". Broadway World.
15. "Interactive Rainbows Color a Fiber Optic Garden". VICE Magazine.
16. "Candid talks to light-installation artist Aowen Jin". Candid Magazine.
17. "Midlight Interactive Light Artwork". Midlight.
18. "Midlight". Birmingham Cathedral.
19. "Midlight Interactive Light Display". Millennium Point. Archived from the original on 20 August 2018. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
20. "Midlight". Created in Birmingham. Archived from the original on 25 April 2016. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
21. "Art Show Brings Communities Together Insider Birmingham Cathedral For Chinese New Year". Brumhour.
22. "Five leading artists to be put to public vote as venues compete for Museums at Night's Connect! initiative". Culture24.
23. "Aowen Jin". Museums At Night. Archived from the original on 27 January 2021. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
24. "100 Women: Who took part?". BBC News. 20 October 2013. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
25. "Who are the 100 Women 2014?". BBC News. 26 October 2014. Retrieved 17 December 2022.

• Alumni of Goldsmiths, University of London
• 1978 births
• Living people
• Chinese contemporary artists
• 21st-century Chinese women artists
• Chinese emigrants to the United Kingdom
• Artists from Luoyang
• 21st-century Chinese essayists
• 21st-century British essayists
• Writers from Luoyang