Fine Art

“Bow-Knot”
Gaayein Jiaxian Peng
Solo Photography Exhibition

Curated by Wenjun Xie
28th Oct 2024

PhotobookCafe Gallery
London, United Kingdom

“Bow-knot, Gaayein explores the nuanced relationship between fragility and resilience, reflects a significant chapter in her creative journey since transitioning to independent photographer in 2023. Her works composed of soft, loose yet cohesive everyday objects, reflects her journey of self-exploration. Through her bow-themed creations, she has developed a unique “in-between” perspective. The bow serves as a metaphor, symbolizing emotional bonds and connections among women.”

Butter Fly, 2024

BBA 'One Shot Award, Nominee, 2024

TOP 40 - SPC Photo Awards, 2024

ND Awards - Professionial - Honorable Mention, 2024

BBA Photography Prize Exhibition, 30/11/2024, Kühlhaus Berlin

SPC Photo Awards Exhibition - 12/10/2024 - 18/10/2024, Q Creative Quarter, Hamburg

‘Square’ photography exhibition - Decode Gallery, November 2nd-November 30th 2024

Midwest salon deux exhibition - Midwest Nice Art, January 1 – March 30, 2025

"Vision and Expression: the art of photography – Barcelona" - PH21 Gallery
Barcelona, Spain
3–10 April, 2024

My Therapy, Dec 2023 - ongoing
Self-Portrait

Gift, 2022

Refocus Award 2024

"Vision and Expression: the art of photography – Barcelona" - PH21 Gallery, 3–10 April, 2024

“Wonder” Online Exhibition, The Center for Fine Art Photography, 31 Jan - 30 Sep, 2024

Gentle Vibrance

2023

The Glasgow Gallery of Photography
Open Exhibition, 5th - 30th June 2024

Poetry of Bones, the University of North Dakota's international photography exhibition, 14 Oct - 7 Nov, 2024

Minimal Diversity of Iceland, 2022
F-STOP Magazine issue #127 minimal - group exhibition 2024

Outside, 2024

Monochrome - PH21 Gallery
A curated international photography exhibition
November 16 – December 10, 2024

Just a Bread,(2024)

In June 2024, when I returned from Paris, I brought back a loaf of toast from bakery carrepaindemieparis. Its softness caused it to be squeezed into various lovely monster shapes during the bumpy journey.

I chose the shape that most me and got it tattooed on my left wrist. As for why a toast, I do have a somewhat meaningful story behind that I might talk about when I am drunk. Cuz I can’t find a better explanation than just saying I did it for when I am old and in an ambulance for an IV on my waist, my grandkids will say what a crazy grandma they have.

Not Just a Bread (2024 - ongoing)

In December 2024, my friend Tingen traveled to Paris and brought back a loaf of toast from the same bakery. She told me it was no longer just toast—it had become the prototype of my tattoo.

Looking at the toast slices of the toast she brought, I noticed its shape was slightly different from mine, as though it carried traces of her journey.

The act of bringing back this loaf, traveling across countries with such care, spoke deeply of our connection. It was as if my tattoo, which might seem silly or impulsive, was her way of interpreting my character.

This has inspired me to explore the idea of relationships and connections through bread, using it as both a tangible medium and a visual metaphor.

Through this project, I aim to transform bread into a symbol of self-exploring and bonds and shared experience.

Artist and their workplace

May 2024 - Ongoing Project

[01] Jimmy Loizeau

P: Can I come and document your little office
Jimmy: Sure people usually do that when someone dies though

Jimmy’s representative object:
Chupa Chups Lollipop

13 years ago, a friend brought him a watermelon-flavored Chupa Chups lollipop from a trip, as this flavor was unavailable in the UK. Since then, he’s developed a unique way of collecting them—
Everyone who gives him a watermelon-flavored Chupa Chups gets an invitation to his funeral.

“ I don’t really want a traditional British funeral. At mine, everyone will be eating these watermelon-flavored Chupa Chups. Why that flavor? Because I want people to feel special.”

“Also, at my funeral, I hope everyone wears heavy lower eyeliner.
That way it’ll look funny. I mean, If they cry. ”

(P: haha what inspired you)
“Crying with smudged eyeliner is actually a film thing,
but when I was young, in Paris, with my girlfriend”
(P: the girl in the album you showed me?)
“Not that one”
(P: you’ve got a lot)
“Nahhh.. Not that much.”

“She lost her passport in Paris, and cried until her lower eyeliner was all over her face. And it was the most beautiful scene I had ever seen.”

On the final day of shooting with Jimmy, he gave me a gift to bring me luck—a tiny “Jimmy” from his previous project, WHAREVER.

6 months later, I finally found a watermelon-flavored Chupa Chups lollipop when I returned to Canton.

I was invited.

“Introduce yourself with this camera”

How are artists understood, and how do they express themselves? This question shouldn’t be answered solely through the portraits I take of them. That’s why I gave Jimmy a disposable film camera, asking him to capture photographs in his workplace that he feels represent himself.

There is bound to be some deviation between the portrait I did and he did, but in my view, this deviation is positive—it represents another perspective that this project aims to explore and present.