Li Yao is a 3D artist and animator based in Chicago. Born in China and educated in the US, Li navigates between geopolitical landscapes, observing the ideological diversity that grounds our realities. Currently, Li dedicates his studio practice to creating virtual environments through modeling software, game engines, and telecommunication applications. Over the years, Li’s work has gone through many changes in both medium and subject matter. What stays true throughout his transformation is a persistent interest in using technology to exorcise familial curses, to recuperate from phobias, and to examine the social conditions from which such curses and phobias arise.
Li has exhibited in various online and offline venues including TingDAO, Altered Festival, The Wrong Biennale, Ars Electronica, and Mykonos Multimedia Festival. He was invited to present his work at SIGGRAPH Asia 2021, and interviewed by the Chicago Reader. Li has designed and taught several virtual reality design curricula in various organizations including the University of Chicago and OF Course Shanghai. He received his MFA in Art and Technology Studies from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2018, and his BFA in Fine Arts from the School of Visual Arts in 2016.