SHOWCASE

/ ARTIST / 2026

BKKIF Artist  
ARTIST: Yiran Li
COUNTRY/REGION: China
CONTACT: instagram.com/yiranliyiran
Yiran Li is an illustrator and printmaker based in China. She works primarily with colored pencils, creating delicate and dreamlike worlds inspired by nature, mythology, dreams, and symbolic imagery.

Drawing from traditional printmaking aesthetics, her works explore themes of memory, emotions, and the connection between humans and the natural world. Through detailed illustrations, she invites viewers into quiet spaces between reality and imagination.
ⓘ Note

Herba Lunaria Menor

Inspired by medieval herbal manuscripts, this illustration presents a mystical allegory of cosmic partnership.
At its heart is Herba Lunaria (Moonwort), a plant of alchemical lore rumored to wax and wane with the lunar cycle—growing a leaf a day until full, then shedding them as the moon fades. Revered by medieval alchemists for its power to transmute metals into silver, it is paired here symmetrically with its celestial counterpart, Sunwort, representing the balance of day and night, silver and gold.
Beneath them, their roots converge into a pair of hands with open eyes, symbolizing a grounded, conscious connection. Reimagining the concept of 'soulmates', this piece portrays them not as two separate entities, but as an interconnected whole, finding perfect harmony and recognition in each other’s presence.

Lazy Afternoon

A sleeping sheep represents the ultimate state of urban relaxation. This minimalist, whimsical piece captures that unique 'cafe people' energy of being fully present yet completely lost in a peaceful daydream, detached from the frantic pace of life.

Exit Velocity

Set against a theatrical circus backdrop, a courageous snow leopard makes a daring leap through fire. It is a striking metaphor for breakthrough and transformation—capturing the exact split-second of courage required to escape limits and jump toward destiny.

Alien Garden

Against a deep blue outer space, a flying dog glides through a galaxy of hand-applied silver foil stars. One fallen star touches down, taking root in this otherworldly soil. This piece captures a magical cosmic germination—where the universe is a garden waiting to bloom.

Almost Together

A black bird and a white bird briefly cross paths in a quiet, misty forest, capturing the bittersweet beauty of a near-miss.

In the Glow

Guided by fate, the black and white birds finally reunite beside a glowing forest fountain, bathing in a moment of warm, magical light.

Kinyoubi Yume

Inspired by a dream, this watercolor captures the moment a white crescent moon breaks into birds, descending from a deep blue sky above the darkened Kinkaku-ji Temple. Here, birds serve as a visual metaphor for the fleeting, magical nature of dreams.

Azure Wasteland

Against a backdrop of distant mountains and an ancient vampire castle, a swarm of black bats emerges from the dark side of the moon. Serving as a companion piece, this whimsical watercolor explores the deeper, shadowed side of dreams.

Spine of the Sky

Rendered in delicate colored pencil, this piece depicts a sacred serpent coiled around a cosmic holy tree. Serving as the literal "spine of the sky," the serpent symbolizes the ancient, winding connection between earth and the heavens, bridging the physical and the divine.

Wheel of Fortune

A colored pencil depiction of the classic Tarot card, symbolizing the constant flow of time, fate, and life’s changing cycles.

BKKIF ARTIST SPECIAL

More Artwork/Merchandise:

YIJI

Yiji is a creature from The Classic of Mountains and Seas, described as a beast with red eyes, a red mouth, and a white tail. It is said to bring fire wherever it appears. The work explores the strange beauty of a creature that exists somewhere between myth, omen, and natural force. Painted in watercolor.

Long

Long is a long, spotted dragon with a remarkably gentle temperament. The work imagines a creature that feels less like a symbol of power and more like a quiet, wandering presence. Painted in watercolor.

White Tail

White Tail is inspired by the Xianyang, a creature recorded in The Classic of Mountains and Seas. It is said to live on Qianlai Mountain, among dense pine trees, with the body of a sheep and the tail of a horse. Combining watercolor and colored pencil, the work gives this unfamiliar creature a quiet, almost dreamlike presence.

Jingwei

Jingwei, the youngest daughter of the Yan Emperor, drowned in the Eastern Sea and was transformed into a bird. Since then, she has carried stones and twigs from the Western Mountains back to the sea, trying to fill it one piece at a time. In the painting, her repeated journeys appear like echoes across the landscape, flying between mountain and sea, day after day, night after night, without ever stopping. Painted in watercolor.

The High Priestess

Inspired by the Tarot’s High Priestess, this work reflects intuition, hidden knowledge, and the quiet balance between what is seen and what remains concealed. She represents a kind of inner knowing that does not need to be explained, an awareness found in silence, dreams, and the space between opposites. Painted in watercolor.

Changfu

Changfu is a strange bird recorded in The Classic of Mountains and Seas: it has the body of a chicken, three heads, six eyes, six legs, and three wings. According to the ancient text, eating its flesh would keep a person from feeling sleepy. In this sense, Changfu becomes something like an ancient mythical form of caffeine, a peculiar creature imagined long before the modern idea of a stimulant. Painted in watercolor.

The Moon

Inspired by the Moon card in the Tarot, The Moon explores the territory between intuition and uncertainty. The moonlight reveals only fragments, while dreams, fears, and hidden feelings begin to take shape in the darkness. It is a quiet image of moving forward without being able to see the whole path. Painted in watercolor.

Vampire Kitty

Vampire Kitty combines three animals I am particularly drawn to: the cobra, the bat, and the Maine Coon cat. The result is a creature that is both familiar and uncanny, elegant, curious, slightly dangerous, and strangely affectionate. The work plays with the pleasure of inventing a creature that could exist only in an imaginary world.

Golden Tears

Golden Tears brings together a spotted rabbit, strange plants with human eyes, and clouds that seem to be watching from above. Inspired by the visual language of medieval manuscripts and bestiaries, the work creates a small world where the familiar becomes subtly uncanny.

Aaliyah's Dream

This drawing is based on a dream described to me by my friend Aaliyah, a diviner. In her dream, she discovered a constellation shaped like an S in an ancient book of astrology. She put the book down and opened a window, where the night sky and a lake stretched beyond her. The stars slowly arranged themselves into the same shape, until one suddenly fell into the water. I painted the dream as a quiet moment in which a private vision becomes part of the physical world.