@ Yicong Studio 2024






Yicong Li is an interdisciplinary artist and educator from Beijing, China. She is based in Chicago and holds a Master of Fine Arts from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Fiber from the Maryland Institute College of Art. Li's artistic vision merges influences from her diverse cultural background. She pushes the boundaries of fashion through masquerades and sculptural forms that interact with the body. She collaborates with local artists and designers and showcases her work in numerous exhibitions across the United States and Globally.

On Show: “Tendril” Artist Spolight Solo Exhibition Series, Peninsula School of Art, Mar 15, 2025 – May 24, 2025


More about me





Vegetate
2024
Wearable Sculpture and Performance

Vegetate embodies the intricate duality of its name—simultaneously evoking a state of flourishing growth and one of stillness and inertia. This soft sculpture functions both as a wearable mask and a freestanding form, blurring the boundary between presence and absence, transformation and stagnation.  

The piece captures organic movement through the tactile qualities of crochet and knitting, mimicking the slow, deliberate spread of vines or the delicate, suspended state of dormancy. Wool and mohair, chosen for their warmth and resilience, enhance the tension between vitality and stasis—between expansion and retreat. The colors are carefully curated into a palette that echoes the natural world, resembling plants as they take root and spread, intertwining growth with the quiet rhythms of stillness. Whether worn or displayed, Vegetate invites the viewer to consider the fluid nature of being: when does stillness become growth, and when does growth conceal a more profound stillness?








Bound
2022
Wearable Sculpture and Performance

Bound represents the evolution of my artistic exploration, building upon the foundations laid by my previous body of work. Drawing inspiration from the timeless allure of the masquerade, I have expanded the concept to envelop the entire body, transforming the traditional mask into a comprehensive, immersive experience. My deep-seated passion for handcrafting is evident in every detail of this garment; each surface meticulously created with strings and yarns, entirely hand-made by me.

Much like my earlier creations, Bound transcends the mere notion of clothing. It is an ensemble of sensory experiences, seamlessly integrating attire, performance, music, and video into a cohesive narrative. To achieve the most profound impact, I collaborated with a professional performer, ensuring the presentation was both dynamic and evocative. Every other aspect of this work was personally crafted, reflecting my dedication and vision.

As my inaugural project in my graduate program, Bound serves as a preliminary sketch of the themes and ideas I intend to explore further. It is a manifestation of my ambition to blur the lines between fashion, art, and performance, creating a space where handcrafted garments become vessels of immersive storytelling. Through this work, I aim to invite audiences into a world where every thread and movement conveys a deeper connection to the art of creation and the narrative it embodies.

Watch performance here




Bodies
2024
Wearable Sculpture and Performance
Made to Order




Witness
2023
Soft Sculpture Series | Crochet and Knitted Wool and Mohair Yarn

At the heart of Witness lies a question drawn from the tradition of Chinese Nuo Opera, where villagers don masks to embody deities: Do masks grant power to those who wear them, or do humans give masks their meaning? This series of masks and soft sculptures explores the shifting dynamic between identity, transformation, and communication, examining how wearing a mask alters perception and expression.

Inspired by the adaptive forms of deep-sea creatures and the organic growth of plants, these sculptures merge the natural world with the human body. Each piece distorts and reinterprets the face through intricate fiber techniques, challenging conventional notions of selfhood and interaction. The wool and mohair fibers balance concealment and revelation, softness and structure—mirroring the complexity of human connection.

By reshaping the face into something unfamiliar, Witness asks: Where does power reside—in the mask or in the one who wears it? How does transformation occur when identity is obscured? And what new forms of expression emerge when the boundaries between self and object dissolve?



Breeze
2023
Wool Yarn, Crochet Mask, Braids and Machine Knitted structures

Breeze is a half-body-sized mask with a pair of leg warmers. Breeze is an experiment withwool as a medium, combination of crafts, and the movement offibers and structures whenworn by a performer.



Phase
2022
Wool Yarn, Crochet Mask, Braids and Machine Knitted structures

PHASE is a group of works I have worked on during my final year of undergraduate study at Maryland Institute College of Art, and it is the stepping stone for my practice. Phase contains a complete assemblage of garments, masks, music, photography, choreography, and performance. I dedicate my work to exploring human communication with oneself through ritual. I incorporate the basic concept of Nuo Opera, part of China's intangible cultural heritage.

In Nuo Opera, villagers put on masks representing and acting as gods. I introduce a similar concept in my work. When models wear my masks, they are free to be anyone or anything. Nuo Opera is about communication between man and god. My work is about the communication between the self and the person to complete the exploration of their personality. Crochet is a ritual, a practice of self-exploration. My crochet work is improvisational, and every step expresses the subconscious. I use photography to locate my exploration with the people who wear my work. I created a world within my values by completing an assembly of live performances.


Watch performance here



Connection
2022
Cotton Yarn, Wire Structure, Off-Loom Weaving, Crochet Structure

Connection is an early exploration with maks and wearable sculpture. Born duringpedantic, It aimed to generate a safe space for two people to communicate.



Mind Map
2022
Recycled Clothing, Foam Board




Distance
2022
Recycled Clothing, Foam Board