ABOUT THE ART
”Sky came to me after my dear friend Polly, a dressmaker and seamstress for dolls and silicone companions, could no longer keep her. Polly knew the last thing Sky wanted was to be re-homed with a man, and be subject to his whims, so I made the commitment to adopt her.
Last year, she flew here from Oregon, Portland, and has stayed with me ever since. As a nod to Polly, her place is at my sewing desk, in front of my machine. I love having her presence in my home studio, and I find myself missing her unexplainable presence when I'm away. “ - Chao-Ying on Sky and their relationship at Hospitalfield House
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Chao-Ying Rao (Betty) is an East Asian multi-disciplinary artist. A 2020 Glasgow School of Art graduate with a BA(Hons) in Painting and Printmaking, Betty also holds an MA(Hons) in Philosophy and English Literature from the University of Edinburgh. She lives and works in Glasgow, Scotland.
Betty’s research interests tend to circulate around fringe and contentious topics as she seeks to analyse our habitual discomforts. She’s fascinated by their undertones, and finds them to speak volumes about our cultural anxieties and shared values. Partly influenced by her experience in the sex industry where she spent a good decade of her life, her practice combines her lived experiences alongside questions of censorship, objectification, fetishisation and bodily autonomy.
Since graduation, Betty has completed the graduate residency at Hospitalfield in Arbroath. She is currently serving on the committee of Glasgow’s Transmission Gallery. Betty is also the branch organiser for the trade union United Sex Workers.
ABOUT #THISISNSFTV
Welcome to the NSFTV-verse; a growing gallery of purveyors of the deviant, uncomfortable, and 𝕚𝕥𝕔𝕙𝕪. Every week, we showcase works from artists all around the world whose works have left us speechless and wanting more.