Reflecting on adversity, queer existence, and ideal love, DEMING HUANG’s diaristic prose is raw in its admissions—he proclaims a gentleness that sympathizes him to the audience and a sensuality that rouses them.

“Art today is like a ship adrift at sea…if the artist and [their] work cannot find an authentic voice and meaning to connect with the outside world, the anchor will never be firmly secured.”

Huang has found his voice; it is both strong and soft. If art is a ship, then he is the explorer aboard it and his work is a map, guiding him on a quest to self discovery. Huang is a multidisciplinary artist and writer, working with mixed-media installation, moving images, painting, and poetry. His journey moving from China to Australia to London, where he currently resides, is an essential influence to his body of work, which illustrates the complexities of Asian diaspora. Huang describes his writing as “human”, by way of autobiographical language and socio-historical observations. “The artist learns to listen to life, society, history, nature, materials, and so on, before finally listening to the self…the artist is the one who tells the right story in the right place.”

“The Greek word Ekphrasis means ‘description of a work of art’. The relationship between my poetry and art is akin to the opposite—a work of art of description. Poetry expresses specific meanings and emotions in a structured and considered form; art has been experimented with and explored in multiple ways, suddenly appearing, and more or less accessible. Poetry and art serve as a substitute for my approach towards certain things and specific occasions: should I ‘say” or ‘do’? Language first, or visual presentation? What matters now?”

Deming Huang received his BA in Fine Art from Chelsea College of Arts and his MA in Sculpture from the Royal College of Art. With his own paintings as a visual component, Huang published his poetic debut Vers Aloe in 2023.