The London Issue will be distributed exclusively to Living Proof Members. Sent to our members for June, 2026.
I visited Amy’s studio when she had recently moved into Manor Place, and even still her space was already beginning to fill up with drawings, prints, found items, past work and personal relics. As I looked around, it became clear that her work is synonymous with her life in the same way that a craftsman’s practice blurs the line between passion and obsession; something I consider ideal in any individual who is great at what they do. Amy Leung is British-born Chinese whose work is deeply personal, reflecting on the experience of being raised in England with a father from Hong Kong and a mother from Taiwan. Her background, upbringing and family provide limitless inspiration for her work. To go through life as an artist is anything but a clear-path. That being said, Amy’s approach has led her to be one of the first artist resident’s at Manor Place, as well as having worked on various graphics with Nike, many of which find their source in her old family photographs. We had a conversation in her studio on what success means to her, her art, family and inspiration.
-Angel Cheng
A lot of your work has to do with your upbringing, your background. It's very personal. What was your upbringing like? And how did that affect what you ended up doing with your life thus far?
So I'm from Hong Kong and Taiwan. My dad's from Hong Kong, my mom's from Taiwan. I think initially, when I felt uninspired, it was like the easiest way to find inspiration. And then, as I've developed my work, I realized it's a non-negotiable in my thinking process. It always kind of flows through that.
I spoke to other artists who I feel bring their cultural heritage into their work. And I would question, how is that? Do you feel forced when you're doing it? How do you make it keep it natural? Because, at times, I didn't feel like it was natural.
But then, Charlie May, he was the artist, he said, “When you're from that certain place, it means that anything you do will be part of that cultural heritage because that is your culture. So it doesn't matter how on the nose or how not on the nose it is. It's you, and whatever you make has it attached to it, regardless.”
I feel like I have so many different answers to that question as well, because it's like, with my parents and their influence on me as a person, and the kind of stuff I looked at growing up, it just sparked my interest on so many different visual levels. So it's quite hard to stray away from these little trinkets and stuff that I have all around. And collecting small things and small prints, I feel like feeding my brain with loads of crumbs of visual stuff is essentially the main inspiration behind my style, I guess.
Nice. And did you grow up there?