Xinze Yu

Growing up in China, I learnt, often without words, that mountains, rivers, plants, and trees are more than landscape. They are living beings. Traditional Chinese philosophy understands humans as part of a living, breathing universe shaped by seasonal cycles and subtle shifts. As a child, I learnt to notice when plants appeared, faded, and returned. Nature was not separate from life; it was an emotional and spiritual anchor.

This understanding was deeply challenged after witnessing Australia’s 2019 Black Summer bushfires. When I arrived in Sydney in 2024, sirens, dry winds, and smoke filled the air, reminding me that fire remained an ongoing presence. I believed fire marked an irreversible end. Later, walking through charred bushland, I encountered something unexpected: small fire-responsive plants emerging from scorched soil. Their quiet persistence transformed my understanding of fire, not only as destruction but also as renewal.

This experience inspired my jewellery series, Emberbloom, which draws on post-fire flora and bushfire ecosystems. Each brooch reflects how life reclaims space after burning. Blackened iron frames reference the scorched remnants left behind, while also symbolising the strength of plants that endure and return. Their forms echo principles found in Indigenous fire stewardship, often described as cool burning, where fire is used carefully and relationally to maintain ecological balance.

Alongside this, titanium elements are 3D printed and anodised to reveal iridescent colours that appear to bloom from within the metal itself. The contrast between traditional forging and contemporary fabrication reflects how ecosystems adapt and regenerate over time.

What moves me most is how these Australian approaches resonate with Chinese philosophies that view change as continual and life as interconnected. Across cultures, caring for land involves listening, observing, and acting with restraint. Through making, I hope to invite attention to the quiet resilience of plants and to the shared responsibility of learning how to live with change.

Emberbloom series (2025):
Blue Lady (9.5 × 2.75 × 1.6 cm)
Kangaroo Paw (6.0 × 5.4 × 0.9 cm)
Flannel (5.2 × 6.5 × 1.2 cm)
Fire Lily (5.5 × 5.5 × 1.8 cm)

Image caption: Emberbloom, Xinze Yu, 2025
Iron (painted), 3D-printed titanium (anodised), stainless steel

Written by Xinze Yu.

Posted by Elyssa Sykes-Smith.

  • Xinze Yu is an artist and researcher engaging with environmental humanities and ecological inquiry.
  • Elyssa Sykes-Smith is a multidisciplinary artist, educator and researcher, and Media Officer at AHNNA