For Asians of all ethnicities around the world, the Lunar New Year is an important holiday. For China, it’s the largest and most important celebration of the year. The Chinese New Year represents a fresh new beginning and is a chance for many people to spend time with friends and family members.
With the approaching New Year celebrations, we revisit some of our favorite illustrators, photographers, musicians, and more from China and nearby regions to find out what they’ve been up to this past year, what they accomplished in the past year, and what they’re wishing for in the upcoming year.
对所有亚洲地区的人来说，农历新年（春节）的来临，也就是到了一年大团圆的时候。在中国，这是规模最大也最隆重的节日。人们在走亲访友、辞旧迎新的同时，也一样都会添岁许愿。
在迎新年的这一期，我们回访了一些来自中国及周边地区的插画家、摄影师、歌手和更多文化创意人，聊了聊在过去一年中，他们各自的收获与成长，以及对新年的计划和期许。
Pigo Lin / 皮哥
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Don’t Touch My Ship, a new painting by Pigo / 皮哥新作 《Don’t Touch My Ship》 -
Mating Snake, a new painting by Pigo / 皮哥新作 《Mating Snake》 -
Alligator, a new painting by Pigo / 皮哥新作 《Alligator》
Illustrator / Pigo Lin
This past year, my paintings have made their way around the world thanks to avid art collectors. In the upcoming year, I plan to create even more erotica.
New Year’s Wish: Lose some belly fat.
Based in Taipei, illustrator Pigo Lin isn’t someone who shies away from the topic of sexuality. Instead, he intends to use his art to open a candid dialogue on the subject. To see the full story from earlier this year, click here.
“The Lunar New Year is one of the most important holidays in Asia, and with it coming up, I want to first and foremost wish for good health and happiness to all of Neocha’s readers in the year ahead. For me, this past year was a year filled with personal achievements, especially considering that I’m not a full-time illustrator. My full-time job is as a watch designer, so I had to work on my illustrations in my spare time. It’s been an incredibly rewarding feeling to see so many art collectors around the world become interested in my art. This year, I need to bunker down and work even harder.”
“During the Chinese New Year celebrations, I’ll gather with family to eat dinner on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. I don’t plan on traveling anywhere during the break and will most likely be in my studio working away. Or maybe I’ll clean my house. My wish for the New Year is to lose some of my belly fat. I guess I’ve really been lacking in the exercise department, my entire physique has been downhill.”
“Going forward, I’ll be continuing to create even more provocative erotica. I still have a ton of drawings that are works in progress.”
插画家 @皮哥
去年 我的作品增加了许多来自世界各地的藏家 ，来年 会持续情色创作 。
新年愿望: 瘦小腹 。
来自台北的插画家皮哥（Pigo Lin），并不害怕敏感的“性欲”话题，他更倾向于用画面表达出来。往期报道请戳这里。
“春节新年是亚州文化重要的节日，新年到了，在这里先通过 Neocha 祝世界的读者们身体健康万事如意。去年是非常充实的一年，我并非全职创作者，手表的设计工作和情色绘画同时进行，最大的收获是作品增加了许多来自世界各地的藏家，今年要更加努力了。”
“（过年）除了除夕夜我会回家和家人团聚吃年夜饭外，我不打算出游，会待在工作室继续创作吧。或是整理房间也有可能。个人的新年愿望是瘦小腹，因为运动量不足的关系，身材都有些走样了呢。在来年（我的）情色创作一样会持续，还有很多尚未完成呢。”
Zhang Yalan / 张雅岚
"God is dead. Rethink everything".
"Even if life is a theatre of tragedy, I'll see this performance to the end with grace."
Illustrator / Zhang Yalan
This past year, I experienced the challenges of finding a stable job after graduation. In the upcoming year, I plan to continue my female-focused illustration series.
New Year’s Wish: Financial independence.
Chinese illustrator Zhang Yulan’s graduation project was an illustration series that examined the Chinese character nǚ (女), which translates to “female” in English. The project dissects other Chinese characters that use the word as a radical and their connotations. To see the full feature from earlier this year, click here.
“This past year has been filled with challenges. Finding a job right after graduating is difficult, but the most rewarding accomplishment of the past year is that I finally started setting goals for myself. I do plan on continuing my illustration series. There are so many more Chinese characters using the nǚ character as a radical, so there are plenty more interesting subjects for me to discover and create. As for what I’ll be up to during the Chinese New Year break, I’ll be spending it with family. My wish for the upcoming New Year is to financially independent. I also want to wish everyone a Happy New Year!”
Inkee Wang / 王颖琦
Illustrator / Inkee Wang
This past year, I was busy working on a collaboration with London’s V&A Museum. In the upcoming year, I want to spend more time reflecting on the work I put out.
New Year’s Wish: To waste less time.
Currently based in Shanghai, Inkee Wang is an illustrator with a unique style that’s colorful and chock-full of quirky humor. Check out our full feature on her by clicking here.
“I’m pretty satisfied with the amount of work I produced in 2017. I’ve honed in on a cohesive aesthetic that I’m happy with. The most rewarding achievement of my past year was my collaboration with V&A. They asked me to submit more work with a contemporary context, and when we reviewed my submissions, they offered a lot of feedback on how I can introduce more complexity into my drawings. This was immensely helpful. Prior to this, I think I didn’t spend enough time contemplating on how to develop my work. I now think there’s a lot more untapped ways for me express myself through art.”
“I’ll most likely be spending the Chinese New Year in a fairly traditional way, relaxing and getting together with family. But I’ll still be working on my art. As for my plans for the coming year, I want to create two comics in the first half and the year and think about how my work can incorporate even more contemporary concepts.”
插画家 @Inkee Wang
去年 在一次跟 V&A 的合作中收获颇丰 ，来年 想更多地“反省” 。
新年愿望: 少浪费点时间 。
目前工作和生活在上海的 Inkee Wang，已经是小有名气的插画艺术家，她的插画风格诙谐有趣，形成了独特的风格。往期报道请戳这里。
“（我）2017 年的出图量还可以，尝试了一种相对来说比较稳定的风格。最大的收获在于一次跟 V&A 的合作，他们要求我的供稿能有更多‘当代的语境’。并且每次过稿都要求我的画面能更佳繁复和混乱一点。这让我反思了很多，觉得我之前还是反省得太少。其实可以挖掘到更多的表现方式。”
“新年过年我应该会和家人团圆，形式比较传统，也会继续创作。来年的计划是，上半年我想要画两篇漫画，并想以‘当代的语境’来更多审视作品。”
Bohan Phoenix
Rapper / Bohan Phoenix
This past year, I did my first-ever Asia tour. In the upcoming year, I’ll be busy working on my “OVERSEAS” project and trying to do things better than the last year.
New Year’s Wish: Listen to more music.
Born in Hubei and raised in Brooklyn, Bohan Phoenix is a Chinese American rapper who’s on the up-and-up in both China and the U.S. Thematically, his music is tied to an exploration of identity, but is expressed using universal messages of love, acceptance, and pride. To see our full feature on Bohan, click here.
“In 2017, I spent the first half of the year in New York and put out the JALA EP, which was heavily influenced by the last couple years of coming to and from Asia. 2018 should get busy as well. As of now, I have a project called ‘OVERSEAS,’ which will be ready in March. Some visuals already finished include a one-shot music video that I’m super excited about.”
“For the New Year, the original plan was to spend it with the family in Chengdu, but as of last week, something came up, and I’ll actually be on tour during Chinese New Year with the Higher Brothers and 88Rising in the states. But I’ll definitely be making calls to my family back home. In the upcoming year and beyond, I plan on to doing even bigger and better things. Hopefully some more projects with Neocha! On a personal level, I had my head buried in making content last year so I didn’t get as much time digging through the vast number of records I’ve yet to hear. I definitely want to do that more in 2018.”
说唱歌手 @Bohan Phoenix
去年 我举办了首次亚洲巡演 ，来年 有个《OVERSEAS》项目，希望能做得更好 。
新年愿望: 听更多音乐 。
出生于湖北、在美国成长的说唱歌手 Bohan Phoenix，以身份认同作为他音乐的核心主题，因而在美国和亚洲地区也越来越受欢迎。 往期报道请戳这里。
“2017 的前半年我都在纽约，推出了深受亚洲影响的《加辣》EP。接下来 2018 年应该会很忙，因为现在我有一个名为《OVERSEAS》的项目，有些视频已经做完了，其中包括一段让我非常兴奋的一镜到底的 MV。”
“新年的话，我原来过年打算和家人在成都团聚的，但上周确定下来春节期间我要在美国演出……但我一定会打电话给家里的！我想在来年做得更好，也希望与 Neocha 合作的更多项目！（比心）个人来说的话，因为去年（我都在）埋头创作，所以在 2018 年，我想多听点音乐。”
Chiu Pi / 邱比
Producer / Chiu Pi
This past year, most of my time was spent producing the SPLENDOR album, and I also signed to ROKON. In the upcoming year, I want to release a new album that’s still only titled using two Chinese characters.
New Year Wish: To fall in love.
Chiu Pi is a Taiwanese musician who creates “mystical” and minimalist soundscapes. Within the span of two years, he’s released seventeen albums amongst numerous commercial collaborations. To find out more about him, check out our full feature by clicking here.
“I pretty much spent the entirety of last year working on SPLENDOR. My biggest accomplishment during that time was signing with ROKON; they helped me a lot by providing additional resources so that I could finish the album. As for upcoming projects, I plan to focus on the manipulation of the human voice. Looking further ahead, I want my productions and sound to be more unpredictable. I’d like to find new people to collaborate with and create something completely original.”
“This Chinese New Year, I’ll be staying in Taiwan and spending time with family. I hope to find someone to fall in love with in this coming New Year, but it’s not looking likely at the moment because I have so many tour dates coming up. After my tour ends, I’ll probably be jumping right into the production of my next album. I want to maintain the trend of titling my next album using only two Chinese characters so that there’s some sort of cohesion to my work. Oh yeah, just a side note, the physical release of the SPLENDOR album will involve a lot of red.”
音乐人 @邱比
去年 忙了整年《大放》的制作、签约了滚石电音 ，来年 想死下心来创作一张还是两个字的专辑 。
新年愿望: 恋爱 。
来自台湾的音乐人邱比，他的音乐常被贴上“仙气”或是极简前卫这样的字眼，两年间他创作了十七张唱片，也创作了一些商业合作作品。往期报道请戳这里。
“2017 一整年几乎都在忙《大放》的制作，最大的事情大概就是签约滚石电音，也使得我有更多资源去完成《大放》。接下去新的作品可能会在人声上做一些改变，可能以后会弱化邱比的声音，想要找人合作去调出一个新的音色。”
“过年我会留在台湾，跟家人一起度过。新年愿望是想要恋爱，可是现在看起来好像也没有办法的样子，因为之后好像一直在演出。忙完演唱会的事情，可能就要开始新专辑的创作，想要死下心来创作一张还是两个字的专辑，让我的作品有一个规格感。另外有个小讯息是，这次《大放》实体会是红色的。”
Sean Marc Lee / 李子仁
Photographer / Sean Marc Lee
This past year, I had the opportunity to develop my skills through shooting in ways I haven’t shot before. In the upcoming year, I want to shoot more quirky portraits of my dad.
New Year’s Wish: To shoot more playful portraits.
Born in San Francisco and now based in Taipei, Sean Marc Lee is a professional photographer whose quirky portraits of his family and friends have become a hallmark of his work. See more of his photos by clicking here.
“Last year started off with a bang with my first billboard for Nike being up all over China. There was a steady mix of travel editorial and collaborations with some locals brands here in Taiwan as well, which let me shoot in ways I haven’t before, but still in my own style. I think the main takeaway this past year is just being more confident in my own style and running with it. Last year, the biggest highlight was getting my family in the States out to Taiwan and traveling with them to Japan. It was also great helping my father meet relatives he hasn’t seen since he was two.”
“For Chinese New Year, I’ll spend a few days down south in Kaohsiung with my girlfriend’s family. I’ll be mostly eating and relaxing! My wish for the New Year is to shoot more portraits that straddle the playful style of my own work but with a style and fashion-orientated direction. I’d also love to get my family out here in Taiwan again and spend more time shooting more quirky portraits of my father. As for my plans for this year, in March, I’ll be in Vietnam; in April, I’ll be in Tokyo; and in June and July, I’ll be in the U.S. on my annual family trip to Yosemite. Of course, I’ll also keep shooting!”
摄影师 @李子仁
去年 我以从未有过的方式稳步发展 ，来年 想给我爸拍更多 。
新年愿望: 拍更多好玩的人像照 。
李子仁是一名生于旧金山而定居于台北的美籍摄影师，他钟爱用胶片来拍摄自己所爱的人们。往期报道请戳这里。
从年初给耐克拍摄了挂满大街小巷的广告牌之后，去年我旅行内容采编和与当地品牌的合作兼有，这让我以从未有过的方式稳步发展。最重要的是，我对自己的风格更有信心并坚持下来了。去年我还有个很大的个人项目，就是让我的家人去台湾和日本旅行，让我的父亲见到了他从两岁起就没见过的亲戚，我希望这系列能继续拍下去。最近我也刚刚和 Neocha 有合作一个很有趣的项目，预计在 3 月面世？
新年期间，我会和我女友的家人去高雄南部住几天，主要是吃喝玩乐！新年愿望是想拍更多好玩的人像照，有可能的话多一些时尚风格。我也想让我的家人再次来到日本，给我爸拍更多古怪的照片。 3 月我还会飞越南，4 月在东京，6 月 7 月会在美国加州约塞米蒂有个家庭年度旅行！当然，以后我也会继续为工作为爱好继续拍下去的。
Wenjun Chen & Yanmei Jiang / 陈文俊 & 江演媚
Photographers / Wenjun Chen & Yanmei Jiang
This past year, we wrapped up a commissioned project that explored on the port cities of China. In the upcoming year, we hope to start making documentary-style and commercial videos.
New Year’s Wish: Live in the States and create new works.
In 2014, this photographer couple turned their lens on each other and began an intimate photography project titled Me & Me. Check out the full story on their work by clicking here.
“This year, we just finished a project commissioned by the China Port Museum about the various port cities of China. Lately, we’re hoping to transition from photography into videography and capture stories in a documentary style or tackle commercial projects. As with every Chinese New Year, we’ll be at home in Guangzhou and spending it with family. Our New Year’s wish is to find opportunities to make more videos, and we also have plans of moving to the U.S. so that we can experience life there while we continue to create new works. The plan is already in motion. Hopefully, everything will go without a hitch.”
去年 我们完成了中国港口城市的项目 ，来年 希望有更多机会拍记录和商业性质的视频 。
新年愿望: 去美国体验新生活、进行新创作 。
这两位摄影师从2014 年起，就开始有意识地互拍、自拍和一起自拍，并合力完成了摄影项目《我与我》。往期报道请戳这里。
“今年我们在创作上完成了一个由中国港口博物馆委派的关于中国港口城市的项目。而工作上，我们开始将重心由静态摄影转向了拍视频，记录性质的，也有商业性质的视频。过年我们都在广州的家，和家人一起过。新年愿望是有更多机会去拍摄记录性质的和商业性质的视频，以及我们计划到美国去获得新的生活体验和进行新的创作，已经在进行中了，希望进展顺利，成功启程。”
Su Wukou / 苏五口
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苏五口新作系列“龙虎豹” -
苏五口新作系列“龙虎豹” -
苏五口新作系列“龙虎豹”
Fashion Designer / Su Wukou
This past year, I released a new clothing line and helped other designers to start up their labels. In the upcoming year, I’ll be hosting an exhibition of some new work.
New Year Wish: Form a strong team and create with more efficiency.
Su Wukou is a designer who’s deliberately refused to put together a statement about his fashion brand. His unique designs and outlook on fashion has led to countless unexpected creations in recent years. Find out more about his work by clicking here.
“What people have seen from me in 2017 is only a small part of what I’ve actually worked on during the year. What they don’t see is the amount of work I invested in helping other designers launch their own labels. But I feel like these two endeavors are one in the same, it’s work that’s being produced from my soul, but they’re just expressed differently. But to be honest, I haven’t spent as much time creating as I like in the past year; it actually feels like I haven’t truly made anything new in a long time. However, in April, I plan to debut an exhibition in Shanghai’s West Bund and showcase some new works. As for the Chinese New Year, I’ll definitely be with family. In this coming year, I hope to build my team up, make it even stronger, and create new work in a more efficient manner.”
独立设计师 @苏五口
去年 我做了新系列、帮一些设计师起步做品牌 ，来年 会有个展览 。
新年愿望: 稳固团队、高效创作 。
设计师苏五口一直没有刻意写品牌介绍去传达他的设计价值观，但是做了很多有趣的服装设计概念。往期报道请戳这里。
“2017 年（我）做的东西，大家能看到的部分是我做了几个新系列，没看到的部分是我有在帮一些设计师起步去做自己的品牌。我感觉这两件事是一样的，仅仅是表达，一种发自内心的输出。其实我放给创作的时间非常少，感觉好久没有创作了。（但）新年 4 月份在上海西岸应该会有一个展览，会展出一些新的东西。然后新年一定是会跟家人一起过，来年希望可以好好稳固自己的团队，更加有效率地去创作。”
ROARINGWILD
Streetwear Brand / ROARINGWILD
This past year, we opened our brick-and-mortar store in Shenzhen. In the upcoming year, we plan to unveil exciting new projects that go beyond streetwear and fashion.
New Year’s Wish: Peace and joy for the world.
Shenzhen-based brand ROARINGWILD understands what makes a piece of clothing “streetwear” is more than its aesthetics alone – it’s the attitude and spirit behind the garment that truly makes it streetwear. They’ve worked tirelessly to advance their vision of creating a streetwear brand that not only represents their ideals but can also inspire an attitude shift in the Chinese youth. Check out our full story on them by clicking here.
“This past year, we’ve been busy releasing new collections every season. Of course, we also launched our first brick-and-mortar location. It’s been a great learning experience as it’s something we’ve never done before. While challenging, our entire team found the whole process to be an enjoyable one. As for newer projects, we’re working on something about urban culture, and we’ll be releasing even more interesting projects in this upcoming year. On the streetwear front, we plan to open a new flagship store and move our studio to an even better location. Aside from that, we’re planning to expand our creative efforts into projects unrelated to fashion, such as making installation art and working with other mediums. We just want to experiment and see what we come up with.”
“For the New Year, we wish for peace and joy to our friends and family as well as the rest of the world. We’re all pretty traditional when it comes to Chinese New Year so we’ll be spending it with family, but we’ll still be working. No matter what happens in this upcoming year, we won’t lose sight of our goal, which is to bring more creativity into the world and have fun doing it.”
街头品牌设计团队 @ROARINGWILD
去年 开了第一家品牌店 ，来年 除了服装上还有很多新的项目 。
新年愿望: 平安喜乐，世界和平 。
来自深圳的时装品牌 ROARINGWILD，鼓励人们张扬地生活，无畏追逐自己的梦想。他们创造一个不仅代表了他们自己的理想，同时能够激发中国青年改变态度的街头品牌。往期报道请戳这里。
“（去年一年）主要是忙创作，新季度的系列设计和创作。然后还有开了第一家店，我们从来都没有试过，学习了很多，团队内部也很享受整个过程。近期的话，就在忙一个关于城市文化的企划，新年也会有很多很有意思的企划出现。会开设新的旗舰店，工作室也会搬到一个更棒的地方。未来我们不仅服装上有很多新的项目，还会涵盖很多方面，偏装置、偏艺术的东西都会有，去尝试新的不同领域的碰撞。”
“新年愿望是平安喜乐，世界和平吧。过年一边会和家人团聚，过一个传统的中国式新年；一边也不会中断创作，一直以来都在想新的东西并且把它实现出来。希望玩得更开心吧。”
Yoyo / 无敌宥先生
Fashionista / Yoyo
This past year, we were hard at work establishing our brand and vintage fashion project. In the upcoming year, we plan to keep exploring the world with our son Yoyo.
New Year’s Wish: Peace and joy for all of our family and friends.
Styled and photographed by his parents, Yoyo is a young fashion icon from Hangzhou who’s attracted a large following with his fashionable yet adorable looks. See the original story, including an original video, by clicking here.
“2017 has been a busy one, but also quite a joyous year. We’ve been working hard to establish an online store for our fashion brand UNSME, and at the same time, we’re also trying to do something with vintage accessories and clothing. Yoyo has grown up a lot since we last caught up as well, so we treasure every shoot we do with him. We see these photos as documentation of his childhood.
“We don’t have that many plans set in stone for this upcoming year, but we do intend on spending even more time to hang out with Yoyo and discover the world around us. We’re also looking forward to getting started on a shoot that we’ve been commissioned to do by a fashion brand. Whatever happens, our goal is to just have a good time.”
“Every year, we go back to our hometown and spend Chinese New Year with our families. This year, we’ll be bringing a GoPro, and we plan to shoot some snapshots of our family getting together and parts of our daily life. We not only want to capture our good times with Yoyo but want to create memories with the entire family. For the New Year, our wish is for our family and friends to stay in good health and have a joy-filled road ahead!”
时髦 Icon @无敌宥先生
去年 一直在忙线上服饰品牌和复古街头服饰 ，来年 会拿出更多时间和 yo 一起去发现 。
新年愿望: 亲友平安喜乐 。
这位酷酷的时尚界新鲜血液名叫 Yoyo，爸妈在社交网络上晒出了独特的穿衣风格，加之 yoyo 天生的超强镜头感立即吸引了大批粉丝。往期报道请戳这里。
“2017 年特别开心且忙碌，一直在忙我们的线上服饰品牌：UNSME。也一人多职地在做关于复古街头服饰的方方面面。yoyo 又长大了很多，和 yo 一起的每一次拍摄都在记录这一年的变化和成长。新的一年，新的创作还没有具体规划，但会拿出更多的时间来跟 yo 一起去进行新发现吧。也很期待明年的品牌邀约及创意拍摄，一切未知，期待始终是‘有趣’进行时！”
“每年都会回老家跟家人一起过春节，今年带了一台 GoPro，想着能在家拍一些日常，不止是 yoyo，也有跟家人一起的记录。新年愿我们的家人和好友依然平安喜乐，身体健康，万事如意，也希望身边的朋友和认识的人都快乐每一天。”
