26th February – 12th March 2026
Opening night Thurs 26th Feb 6:30pm

We’re delighted to welcome multidisciplinary artist Lin Cheng back to Six Foot Gallery. Lin is a UK-based illustrator and visual artist whose practice expands the possibilities of contemporary visual storytelling through picture books, illustration, artist’s books and cross-media works. Working between children’s visual language and socially engaged narratives, she develops poetic yet conceptually driven imagery that bridges illustration and contemporary art practice. Her work has been exhibited internationally across the UK, France, the United States, and China, including presentations during the London Design Festival and exhibitions in Glasgow, London, Paris, and New York.

Lin has collaborated with publishers, magazines and cultural platforms, contributing to both independent artistic projects and public-facing visual culture. Her practice has received international recognition including the MUSE Creative Awards Gold Winner (USA), World Illustration Awards Shortlist (UK), CA Illustration Shortlist (USA), and Merit Awards from iJungle Illustration Awards (UK), 3×3 International Illustration Competition (USA), and Hiii Illustration International Competition (China). Selected works have been collected by the Brookline Arts Centre, Massachusetts, USA.

Through cross-media visual narration, Lin contributes a distinctive voice to the UK’s illustration and visual-arts landscape, creating accessible yet critically engaged storytelling experiences for diverse audiences.

Silent Voices, Tender Lines brings together works that explore the space between childhood imagination and contemporary lived realities. Drawing on the visual language of picture books alongside experimental illustration and installation, Lin constructs narrative environments where softness becomes a method of reflection.

The exhibition presents visual stories shaped by themes of care, vulnerability and emotional resilience, inviting audiences to engage with experiences often overlooked within everyday life. Through layered imagery, symbolic characters, and intimate storytelling, Lin introduces a cross-cultural perspective that expands how illustration can operate within contemporary UK art spaces – not only as aesthetic practice but also as a form of visual dialogue.

Rather than separating innocence from reality, the works reveal how sensitivity and observation can coexist with strength. Through poetic illustration and socially reflective imagery, Silent Voices, Tender Lines expands the role of illustration within the city’s contemporary art discourse, offering new perspectives on care, resilience and visual storytelling.

Silent Voices, Tender Lines by Lin Cheng runs at Six Foot Gallery from 26th February – 12th March 2026. See more of Lin’s work on Instagram or on her website.