Meet Yining Zhang, one of our MFAD Class of 2025 students.

Hometown: Beijing, China

Yining is a Chinese graphic designer currently living in NYC.

Featured Work

This is an installation art piece called Fragile Shelter. The purpose of this device is to elucidate the often overlooked truth within the concept of perfectionism to people. Through programming and the application of a microcontroller, this device can detect the proximity of the audience, thereby controlling the pressure inside the box to inflate and deflate the balloons at the top, consequently squeezing and damaging the wooden “shelter” at the bottom. This design delves into people’s sensitivity to the gaze and judgment of others while also demonstrating the disadvantages of perfectionism as a fragile form of self-deception. It focuses on nurturing positive beliefs in oneself while resisting negative thoughts of evasion and excuses. This project represents my first foray into installation design. Overall, it embodies a phase of reflection and ideas in my life. This work is not only a record of my personal journey but also an expression of my thoughts after self-contemplation.