École Anormale Supérieure 高等失范学院

École Anormale Supérieure 高等失范学院 is an exhibition of cartoons by Xinyue Cécilia Yu, lecturer and amateur cartoonist. Through some thirty drawings, she offers both a tender and critical look at the everyday world of academia: teaching, research, bureaucracy and institutional absurdities. Inspired by the humor of Sempé, the exhibition combines keen observation, self-mockery and reflection on the sometimes trying realities of academic life.
Illustration of 4 characters wearing glasses and striped outfits and walking on black strips marked "deadline".
Permanent Head Damage - PhD © Xinyue Cécilia Yu‎

The exhibition features a series of cartoons by Xinyue Cécilia Yu, aka CeciliaXY, lecturer in Chinese language and linguistics and amateur self-taught cartoonist. The title ironically hijacks the name of the famous École normale supérieure (高等失范学院 gāoděng shīfàn xuéyuàn), replacing 师范 shīfàn ("normal, model") with 失范 shīfàn ("abnormal, deviant"). This play on words reflects, with humor and tenderness, the often "out of the ordinary" daily life of teacher-researchers, between passion, fatigue, absurdity and self-mockery.

For several years, in parallel with her activity as a teacher-researcher, Xinyue Cécilia Yu has been producing humor drawings to tell the story of university life "seen from the inside". Born in China and living in France for over sixteen years, she sketches with lucidity and kindness the realities of the academic world: research, teaching, administration, institutional crises, but also moments of solidarity and inspiration. These drawings, at once personal and universal, constitute an artistic and intercultural testimony to intellectual life and its paradoxes.

The exhibition features a selection of some thirty cartoons, chosen from over seven years of creation and more than two hundred drawings. The themes addressed cover several facets of university work:

  • teaching and interactions with students,
  • administrative tasks and daily bureaucracy,
  • scientific research,
  • the period of confinement and distance learning.

The drawings, hand-drawn on paper using pens and brush pens, are in black, white and shades of gray. Their style is inspired by the spirit of Sempé, blending gentle humor, graphic simplicity and a critical eye.
Some refer to famous works or popular culture (movie posters, classical painting), while others rely on metaphorical or absurd images. The characters wear vertical striped uniforms ironically reminiscent of the outfits worn by hospitalized patients in China: a metaphor for the "permanent mental damage" (Permanent Head Damage - PhD) caused by university life.

On Tuesday February 24 at 4pm Xinyue Cécilia Yu will be offering an opening reception for her exhibition, to present her drawings and chat with visitors.