Interview with
Zeng Shi Yue

Securing Offers from UAL at BACA

After coming to BACA, my independence in learning has significantly improved. BACA teachers don't guide us step by step through projects or give us all the details on how to do things. Most of the time, we have to explore on our own, allowing for diverse and personalized artistic creations. During the projects, teachers provide us with a general direction, and after tutorials, we need to find inspiration and conduct research on our own. They give us a lot of freedom to create the work we want to do.

My work was inspired by my childhood. When I was little, I used to fold paper and play games with flowers, imagining them growing bigger or even coming to life. I incorporated this idea into my artwork, returning to the imaginative world of children.

BACA's foreign teachers give us a lot of freedom and trust in our abilities. They don't check and guide every detail like previous teachers; they don't interfere with everything. If every step is checked, it's like being confined within an invisible framework. At BACA, I only have one-on-one tutorials with teachers when I encounter difficulties. Each time, the teacher patiently analyzes and provides me with various opinions, making my ideas clearer.

I had about 4 to 5 interview coaching sessions with different teachers, including Aschkan, Sakura, Huang, and Alex, who each coached me 1 to 2 times, so I was very well prepared.

Sakura mainly assisted with my portfolio, asking very targeted questions about my work.

Aschkan dealt with more general questions, such as why I chose this major and what my understanding of the major was. Since I practiced with Aschkan many times, I answered confidently during the interview with Chelsea College of Arts, University of the Arts London. Alex corrected my grammar errors and helped me refine my answers. Huang added more challenging questions on the basis of Aschkan's questions, preparing me comprehensively.

Although Central Saint Martins directly admitted me without an interview, the waiting process was very long. Fortunately, receiving an offer from Chelsea College of Arts earlier gave me much peace of mind. I want to thank the teachers again!

I think the highlight of BACA is that before the interview, the school invites professors from UAL to provide portfolio coaching. A professor from Central Saint Martins helped me five times, and I told him about the ideas behind my works. He then provided corresponding advice on the contents of my sketchbook. He also suggested artists whose research would be helpful for my work. These artists' research had a significant impact on my final creations.

BACA has a long-standing cooperation with our school. In previous years, many seniors from our school who studied at BACA successfully applied to UAL, and some even got into prestigious majors. This is what gives me the most confidence.

In my previous school, the ideas and development of creations were mostly guided by the teachers, leaving little room for creativity. After coming to BACA, the time for research that teachers required was extremely long. As I delved deeper into the research, I discovered more interesting aspects, which sometimes changed the direction of my work. So, sometimes, my starting point for research would be completely different from the end result, which is very interesting.

When I first came to BACA, I was really confused; it was completely different from my previous school. I also questioned whether this "free-range" style of teaching by foreign teachers was suitable for us. For example, at the beginning, I could only find images for research. After going through several projects, I have grown a lot. Research is not so difficult for me now; it's about gradually finding my own style through trial and error.

At BACA, teachers always advise us not to rush into creating artworks during the research process. Only through thorough research can the work have depth and be more complete. So, when you first come to BACA, don't be anxious; if you have questions, ask them boldly. Teachers will patiently answer your questions and help you clarify your ideas!