While we are all so different individually, it seems easy to define people in groups according to tired stereotypes. Things get interesting, however, when different stereotyped groups collide – which is exactly what Yang Liu’s “Ost trifft West,” or “East Meets West,” is all about. Liu, a young artist from Beijing currently living in Germany, illustrates the social and cultural differences between her Eastern and Western worlds.
“Ost trifft West” is a series of infographic posters that make accurate and sometimes humorous comparisons between German and Chinese people. The infographics underscore important human elements like the perception of self, expression of opinions and mood. They also compare a few less-serious elements like behavior at a party or the most popular cure for belly ache.
Yang Liu says she is often questioned about her ways of gathering such content and whether she used interviews, research or theories. “The fact is that each single illustration is my very personal experience in the past 13-17 years, and this work was made as a documentation of my own life,” she said. As an artist who was raised in multiple cultures, she doesn’t feel like she belongs to any of them: “I am feeling myself more as a person, who belongs to all the places I have been”,- says Liu.
Website: yangliudesign.com
Expressing opinion
Lifestyle: independent vs. dependent
Attitude towards punctuality
The boss
Contacts and connections
Expressing feelings
Standing in a line
Self perception
Sundays on the streets
At a party
Noise level at the restaurant
Cure for stomach ache
Travelling
Ideal of beauty
Children in the family
Novelties
Dealing with problems
Three meals a day
Means of transportation
Everyday life of elderly
Shower time
What’s trending
Mood and weather
Cultural perceptions: Germans vs. Chinese
