Qi Chen is a Chinese artist living in Ireland and undertaking a PhD at Burren College of Art, National University of Ireland, Galway. Qi holds an undergraduate degree from the Art College of Renmin University of China where he completed a Bachelor of Painting and Calligraphy in 2008. He also went on to complete a Masters in 2012 from the China Academy of Fine Arts, and in 2017 a master's degree in the History of Art from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. Before attending the University of Edinburgh, he worked as an artist in Hunan Painting Academy and a Chinese Calligraphy teacher in Hunan Normal University.  

Qi is interested in portrait painting and documentary film, his research focuses on the combination of portrait, text and documentary film to question or collapse subjective distance between people from different cultures in order to enhance mutual understanding. He draws on Chinese silk with ink and combines these drawings with documentary videos to reflect conflicts and misunderstandings between different ideologies and identities. These pieces challenge the viewer to rethink themselves and their boundaries. His idea originates from what has happened with historical conflicts and what is happening globally in the world today. It is a reflection and commentary on how war starts, how humanity is separated from each other, and misunderstanding between different religions, nationalities, and identities.