Shujing Shen

Shujing Shen | In the Park | 2025

Your series “In the Park” radiates serenity and warmth. What inspired you to create these digital scenes of everyday life?

The starting point was simple: I always want to capture the beautiful moments that often go unnoticed. When spring arrives in London and the sun comes out,  people gather in the parks, meeting friends, lying on the grass, watching others pass by, simply enjoying the feeling of doing nothing. With an iPad, I can quickly record the scenes and easily document the atmosphere and my feelings of the moment.

You use digital painting in a very tactile, almost painterly way. How do you approach texture and colour on the iPad?

I like to skip the linework and draw with blocks of colour. I’m drawn to bright, high-contrast palettes, and I often choose colours that match how I feel. As I build the overall atmosphere, I layer in smaller strokes to create rhythm and depth. I use textured brushes to keep the composition light and to let the image breathe. I want each painting to feel lively and full of colour, vibrant but not too intense.

Shujing Shen | In the Park | 2025

Can you tell us about your experience blending Eastern and Western influences in your work?

I was born and raised in China, spent some time in New Zealand, and later moved to the UK. I’ve studied and worked in different fields, and these cross-cultural experiences have shaped both how I see the world and how I create. In my artwork, In the Park, the focus on stillness and atmosphere is influenced by East Asian culture. It’s similar to the flow of Tai Chi—slow, fluid, and about finding quiet beauty in everyday moments. At the same time, the perspective of my artwork comes from my experience as an outsider observing Western landscapes. I want my approach to be free and relaxed, allowing the artwork to reflect that sense of distance and exploration.

Your art feels like a pause — a breath of quiet observation. How do you translate emotional presence into visual language?

Life in big cities is always fast-paced, and parks function as a container that allows us to slow down, pause, and take a break. I see my series In the Park as an artistic meditation. When I paint, I enter a state of emptiness, where I use blocks of colour and shapes to depict what I see, think, and feel. This process helps me translate emotional presence into visual language, capturing the quiet moments of reflection and stillness.

Shujing Shen | In the Park | 2025

What role does memory play in your creative process?

I view my memories as colourful, scattered fragments that resurface when I paint. From the first stroke I paint, moments from the past mix with what I feel in the present. In the Park, the scenes combine what I see at the moment with memories of places I’ve been, people I’ve known, and emotions I’ve felt before. Digital painting allows me to easily reshape and reinterpret these memories through colour, light, and form.

As someone working with XR and immersive media, how do you see the relationship between digital environments and inner landscapes?

I see both digital and traditional media as my tools; they are just different kinds of canvases for expressing my inner landscapes. Whether I’m using a pen on paper, an Apple Pencil on an iPad, or VR controllers inside a headset, each medium allows me to translate what I feel and imagine into a visible spatial experience.

Shujing Shen | In the Park | 2025

How does working in nature or observing outdoor spaces affect your visual storytelling?

For me, being in nature or outdoor spaces is not just about observing but about tuning in, sitting, listening, and absorbing the atmosphere. It shapes how I feel and express myself. I focus less on what I see and more on how the space makes me feel. In the Park, the landscape I see influences the rhythm of the lines, the weight of the marks, and the quiet moments on the page. My painting becomes a visual journal that reflects my connection to the environment.