"The Unwanted Story"
”Once Upon a Time“ imagines a world where pollution and discarded materials have overtaken the landscape, turning waste into both environment and archive. It asks what stories remain when society itself is shaped by what it throws away.
"Home" portrays the scene of half-melted snow—when what was once pristine reveals its underside of dirt, trash, and decay. It is a quiet moment of discomfort, when beauty gives way to what lies beneath.
When I painted “Home,” winter was almost over. Coincidentally, I learned that the piece was selected on the same day Toronto had its first snowfall of the season. This morning, I went out hoping to walk in the snow, only to find it had already melted—just like the scene in “Home.” Snow is beautiful, but I’ve never liked it once it melts: it’s wet, dirty, and cold—beauty that disappears too fast. As I walked, half amused and half disgusted, I realized that this fleeting, almost discomfort feeling was worth remembering. I felt the same way while painting—one moment disliking what I made, the next finding it beautiful. Maybe the world is simply like that, beauty tangled with ugliness, and ugliness wrapped in beauty.
https://jiangyan.myportfolio.com
IG: @garlicbunnyy
Medium & dimensions:
Gouache
"Once Upon a Time": 12 x 9 in
"Home": 6 x 9 in
Yan Jiang is a Chinese Canadian illustrator. Surrounded by different languages, she learned to observe and reflect in silence. Her quiet thoughts gradually transform into drawings that celebrate the whimsical and unpredictable worlds of her imagination.
