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About Us
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(2025)
qīqíqǐqì Studio is an experimental creative studio led by artists Miao Tan and Siying Cui.
Working with the combination of lacquer and fibre materials, they explore the materiality and performance of lacquer, along with the unique sensations it evokes and the possibilities it holds within a contemporary context.
The name qīqíqǐqì comes from the four tones of “qi” in Pinyin, represented by four Chinese characters:
漆 (lacquer)
奇 (wonder)
岂 (far more than)
器 (artefacts)
As the world becomes increasingly smooth and seamless, with technology flattening every wrinkle of perception, they feel a growing urgency to stay connected to the real.
“qīqíqǐqì” is a response, a reawakening of our most primal, tactile connection to materials. A quiet yet resolute resistance, it reminds us to rediscover the sensory experiences of touch and perception that are slipping away.
Studio
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Siying Cui (b. 1996, China)
Siying explores how individual perception is shaped and redirected in the digital age, considering how digital embodiment reframes the subtle relationships between humans and objects.
With experience across branding, publishing, and spatial design, Siying’s practice moves fluidly between design and art, maintaining an open and critical approach to both. Their work spans drawing and installation, as well as time-based media, and has been exhibited across the UK, including at the Tate Modern (Tate Lates), ST.ART Gallery, and the Glasgow Gallery of Photography.
Siying holds a BA in Environment Design from Beijing University of Technology, and both a Graduate Diploma in Fine Art and an MA in Contemporary Art Practice from the Royal College of Art.
Artists
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(2025)
Miao Tan (b. 1998, China)
Miao is currently based in London and works across sculpture, installation, and mixed-media drawing.
Miao’s practice focuses on the vitality of materials, exploring the interplay between gender fluidity, bodily experience, and social structures through the fusion of lacquer and textiles.
Educated in both China and the UK, Miao received a BA in Oil Painting from Minzu University of China, followed by a Graduate Diploma in Art & Design and an MA in Sculpture from the Royal College of Art.
In 2023, Miao was awarded the New Graduate Award by the Royal Watercolour Society (RWS) and completed a residency at Standpoint Gallery in London. Exhibitions also include Mall Galleries, ST.ART Gallery, and Bankside Gallery. Current research continues to explore cross-disciplinary approaches to material and identity.