What to expect at sculptor Daniel Yu’s ‘Altered Realities: A Jiangshi Introspection’ exhibition

Collecting toys was always a part of his life, but he never thought he could use them as a stepping stone towards his dreams. 

Back in primary school, Daniel Yu would collect toys as a hobby. But he soon realised toy companies were not making the characters he wanted, which served as his motivation to make his own toys.

He was eventually inspired by the influences he grew up with and created his unique version of the Jiangshi, also known as a Chinese hopping vampire in Chinese culture and folklore.

In a recent collaboration with art toy gallery BLAXK by ActionCity, Daniel got to display his Jiangshi figurines in an exhibition named Altered Realities: A Jiangshi Introspection.

Daniel grew up with both eastern and western influences, as he enjoyed comic books, pop culture and fairytales but also various folklore and creepy monsters.

To achieve his goal of being able to customise his own action figures, Daniel started to learn several artistic skills including sculpting and painting back in 2014.

The 37-year-old sculptor soon became known for his creations after participating in and displaying his works at conventions around the world, such as at the Taipei Toy Festival, Wonder Festival in Japan and the Thailand Toy Expo. 

When he returned to Singapore, he decided to merge the influences he grew up with to create a new character, which was his pop culture version of the Jiangshi.

The exhibition displays colourful seals inspired by the Jiangshi.

Through the exhibition, Daniel hopes the public will understand that the Jiangshi concept is not limited to a horror movie trope. Instead, it can be an attractive pop culture art form.

The exhibition itself displays Jiangshi pieces made with different materials like resin and vinyl in different sizes. 

During the creation of these pieces, Daniel shared that he would do research on the Jiangshi by reading books about them, and consider what medium he would use when sculpting the models. 

Resin remains one of his favourite mediums to use for sculpting as he feels it has a certain weight and presence that allows more intricate details to be crafted.

Daniel also shared that he used 3D printing to replicate the models of the Jiangshi during the creation of his pieces for efficiency.

While smaller sized pieces would take one to two weeks to create, larger Jiangshi models could take a month or more.

Daniel attempted to weave asian folklore into pop culture for Altered Realities: A Jiangshi Introspection.

He used the Jiangshi as a subject for his exhibition as he felt it was something relevant to him.

“As an Asian, I loved weird, creepy looking monsters when growing up. And when I associated that in an asian context, the first thing that came to my mind was (the) Jiangshi,” he said.

Featuring many of his past works, Altered Realities: A Jiangshi Introspection is one of Daniel’s largest scale exhibitions till date.

Using Chinese culture as his inspiration, Daniel crafted the Jiangshi versions of well known characters from traditions and folklore, such as his Fortune Twins and Lunar Beast pieces.

Daniel also makes use of his childhood experiences and influences to come up with novel ideas for pieces.

For instance, he created a tiger model named Shining Wizard due to his past interest in a Japanese professional wrestler named “Tiger Mask”.

The exhibition also introduces a collaboration between Daniel and 13 renowned artists from both local and international art scenes, each with their own interpretations of the Jiangshi.

Daniel believes that the “Alternate Realities” in the title of the exhibition means that the concept of the Jiangshi can take on unique forms, as displayed in the artworks.

Abstract and surreal art styles were also used by these artists to reinterpret the Jiangshi. 

The exhibition is open to the public at BLAXK by ActionCity in Funan Mall at 107 North Bridge Road, Funan, #01-03.