10 Questions with Moyu Yang

 Within the vibrant artistic landscape of London, Moyu Yang garners recognition as an artist of notable acclaim. Her creative pursuits span across sculpture, set design, body performance, experimental film and fashion, while showcasing a diverse artistic practice. Graduating with a Master of Fine Arts degree from Central Saint Martins, she explores the boundaries of the human body, consciousness, and the shifting perspectives between human and nonhuman entities through her work.

Moyu Yang's artistic aims extend beyond individual exploration to address broader social issues further. She examines the positioning of women within patriarchal structures, delicately exploring female bodies and feminist philosophy and injecting a unique perspective and voice into contemporary art.

As an active exhibitor, Moyu Yang's work has been showcased at various prestigious exhibitions, including "QUOTE UNQUOTE" at The Ugly Duck, "REVEAL THE BOUNDLESS SUBTLE" at Artsect Gallery, "NIGREDO PSYCHEDELIA" at ALCHEMY ART LAB, "PERCEIVES" at Espacio Gallery, and "Existing in Shadowland" at Artsect Gallery. They are the result of curiosity, inspiration and these experiences do not pretend to convey any information.

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ARTIST STATEMENT

The unconscious can only be reached and expressed through symbols; individuation is hardly realized without symbols. Symbols are, on the one hand, primitive expressions of the unconscious and, on the other, opinions corresponding to the highest premonition produced by consciousness. Moyu's Presence series epitomizes the concept of "symbolism" through her authentic experience and is transformed into tangible art pieces. Moyu visualizes spiritual fields that are normally hidden in the internal unconscious world.  Presence series represents a common experience shared by individuals as the unconscious exists in people's minds universally. Consequently, this series attempts to resonate with the audience in a direct and connective manner. With individual consciousness, she transforms more natural physiological results into the construction of artistic language in a completely new way. In this interview, we will experience her ideological dimension through her "Presence" series of creations and further discover the connection between humans, the environment, the body, and the media. In this creative experience, the sensation of the author's physical body gradually disappears, dissolving her specific energy into pieces and strengthening her clarity of consciousness.

In the "Presence" series, she highlights the neglected factors of language and inspires feminists to reflect on themselves through unconscious language, especially the "female subject" that has long been prescribed by the patriarchal order. The environment molds subjects' consciousness in an unconscious way, which leads to a so-called "Presence Process." In some matriarchal societies, women are not bound by the symbolic meaning of the penis and can shape their own identities and roles autonomously. In this case, the entire clan or even society may be transformed into the mask (agency) owned by women. This symbol serves as a result of the "Presence Process" that indicates the value of women as subjects. Through the fusion of wearable sculptures conforming to the female bodily structure and the pliable and malleable medium of latex, she seeks to redefine "self-social roles" for women, empowering them against alienation through artistic language.

INTERVIEW

Can you tell us about your artistic journey and how your time at Central Saint Martins influenced your approach to art?

When I first started my studies at CSM in 2020, unfortunately, this period was during the COVID epidemic. The university wasn't fully accessible to students; however, we were still able to form a very strong student/artist community throughout the cohort. Regardless of absence, we came together in difficult times and created an online exhibition through the formation of our own website alongside the crucial help and guidance of our tutor. We still managed to be creative whilst restrictions were in place, but once they were lifted and we could interact with other students and our tutors in person, it changed my whole experience at CSM. During this Master's course, I began to learn more about myself and the artistic direction I might be heading toward; this was only possible because of the university's ethos, which didn't set boundaries or limitations on students, resulting in free thinking and expression wherever you seem worth exploring. It allowed everyone to have enough space to explore their own path and encouraged students to use a diverse range of media to create their own work. In addition, they especially encouraged students to collaborate between different courses, which gave us great opportunities to be inspired and produce our work with more diverse forms of art.

Your work spans sculpture, set design, body performance, experimental film (and fashion). How do you integrate these diverse mediums into your creative process?

The way I'm working on my project is based upon my educational background in fine art alongside my knowledge of film creation within my major during my bachelor's degree. I'm always trying to tell a story through my work and give audiences a full experience to process my art. Each work, through different mediums (like set design, lighting, andchoreography), attempts to achieve different outcomes and lets people better understand my project and the story I'm looking to convey. Throughout my projects and exhibitions, I like to combine this integration of mediums to create a greater effect on a person's emotional and sensory response to what they are seeing, hearing, or touching. Furthermore, when you step back to review the work through a wider lens, it still provides a clear picture, pathway, and idea behind the logical development process.

How do you balance your work across different disciplines to create a cohesive artistic expression?

For me, this expression in my artwork just happened very naturally. Every project has taken inspiration from my daily scene and the environment around me. These elements happen in a very authentic way and naturally dissolve into my artwork; gradually, the cohesive artistic expression has been strengthened through each project. I balance my work across a variety of artistic disciplines, such as my background in film, which has influenced my creativity in telling a story and setting a scene for exhibitions in relation to set design, lighting, and choreography of the people involved. My interest in fashion as an artistic discipline can be seen through my love for sculpting, where my recent work shows art pieces that not only represent aspects of the female bodily form but also act as wearable sculptures to coincide with one's outfit of choice. In addition, I would say that drawing and photography have also influenced my work as a discipline of art and are vital in forming the ideas behind each new project. Throughout my Master's, I was further inspired by the other artists around me who specialized in different disciplines as they helped influence my art process, and our collaboration for exhibitions has allowed my freedom to express a range of thought processes to come to fruition resulting in a more cohesive artistic expression.

Who or what are your biggest influences and how did they shape your artistic expression?

Dimitris Papaiounnou is one of the greatest Greek artists of our time. I was lucky enough to see his INK live performance during the 2020 in Lyon, France. The whole performance was clean, accurate, and without the need for any extra information to convey his art and the meaning behind it. His working method and attitude are all expressed through his works, which deeply moved me and influenced me to simplify and accurately express the artistic language of the works in my future creations. Dimitris always integrates his own life experience or the story of his own country's culture into his works; I also draw inspiration from the cultural and artistic background of my hometown and country's culture. I can easily see the correlation between the two ancient civilizations with regard to their artistic background and creation; therefore, his performance and artwork truly related to me and had a great influence on shaping my expression as an artist.Aside from Papaionnou, I'd say that my other biggest influences were Robert Wilson, who is a multifaceted artist who greatly influenced my interest in sculpting combined with performance, and Chen Tianzhou (a CSM alumni), who has the ability to utilize a range of media to convey his ideas into art that crosses between reality and fantasy. It's obvious to me that these artists have directly affected my outlook on creating meaningful projects and have opened up my mind to what is possible when presenting my ideas to the world.

Let's discuss your Presence series. Can you describe your process for creating a piece? What steps do you take to transform your ideas into tangible art?

Last year, I read a book called "Body by Me" by Sheila de Liz. This book examines the elaborate and unique physiological structure of women and the common physiological health problems that may occur amongst them. The section of the book explaining the anatomy and process of the female uterus and reproductive system intrigued me the most, which led to my pursuit of more knowledge on this topic of the body and its biological functions, including my own. 
After drawing many sketches and analyzing my own body structure and posture, I tried to create a form of wearable sculpture to symbolize the unique reproductive structural system of women and the physiological reaction behind it. The aim of this piece was to create something that interacted with the body in a wearable sculptured medium that any viewer can try themselves. It is intended to represent the visual qualities of the female body; whether it is seen as weak or strong is up to the interpretation of the person viewing my art. One may see this sculpture and see it represents all life and the strength behind every person, or perhaps one may interpret this piece as fragile; the sculpture itself, as well as the reproductive system of women and the topic surrounding their identity and conformity to social norms (constraints it puts on women to procreate), are both fragile. The next step in my process is the production of 3D models and the selection and use of materials that conform to the 'gender' theme, such as latex, a material considered to be sexualized throughout society. The result is a complete visual presentation in the form of tangible, wearable art. 

Your work often delves into the boundaries of the human body and consciousness. What initially drew you to these themes?

Originally, it came from my own daily self-practice. The book "The Power of Now" by Eckhart Tolie mentions a meditation method for self-healing: lie in bed and completely relax your body and devote your full consciousness to a certain point in your body, allowing consciousness to flow through you. Sometimes, I strongly feel the energy of life in various parts of my body, letting my consciousness flow through each section like a wave repeatedly. Through repeated practice, I see my inner body as an integrated energy field; this is a "Presence" state. It was also the first step that encouraged me to focus on my body and mind and practice self-cultivation. It is this experience driver that drew me to the theme central to the Presence series and expresses my self-cultivation experience through visual entities. 

How do you hope your "Presence" series impacts viewers, and what kind of reaction have you received so far?

In Artsect Gallery's "Reveal the Boundless Subtle," I exhibited my first three pieces of the Presence series. Hanging from the ceiling in the gallery, Presence 001 was presented, allowing audiences to wear it if they so desired.  When the artwork allows viewers to interact with it, it gives people more of a chance to really experience my work.  In their moment of identification with the other, they remain themselves in a way that is symphonic and echoing between body and spirit. Compared with other sculptures I exhibited in the gallery before as an object, this interactive work in the exhibition space has more opportunities to communicate with the audience and open up their imagination while forming a new sense of communication with myself and the people experiencing it.
I believe my work in this series has had an impact on the viewers and will continue to do so in the following exhibitions where my series will continue. It is putting power back into the hands of women who have long been objectified by a male-dominated society. This series, instead of objectifying women in a derogatory way, looks to show objects that represent the magnificence of women and their power in a positive light. The feedback I've received so far has been so lovely that it gives me more inspiration to create more meaningful work and contribute further to the UK art community; I want to give more opportunities to other artists to display their ideas through further self/co-created exhibitions here in London. It's important for us all to support each other where possible, and that is one thing I love about the UK; it's so inclusive and supportive of expression, which doesn't exist in the same way back in China. 

How important is it for you to create art that resonates on a social level, particularly regarding gender, the human condition, and patriarchal structures? And what message do you hope to convey?

In my current creative stage, the message I hope to convey is more about clarifying my own subjectivity and conveying the subject I am trying to express or construct. The idea behind this project wasn't to influence the viewers to think a certain way about gender or patriarchal structures and conditioning, nor to raise these issues and challenge them so strongly, but instead, to highlight my own personal feelings and thoughts behind this theme while outlining my life and experience as a woman through my art.

How do you envision your work ending in the next few years? Particularly in exploring new mediums or themes?

I have not set a specific task or theme for myself as I am influenced by my own life and surroundings as time moves forward. As mentioned in the previous statement, I usually try to visualise the spiritual field hidden in the inner unconscious world, then with use of various mediums, transform these ideas into a more natural physiological result which conveys my artistic language in a new way.
The use of each kind of media in my exhibitions, such as music for sound, lighting for visuals, and materials for touch, helps to change people's sensory balance and produce different psychological effects and ways of recognizing and reacting to the external world. I can't predict my direction for this work, as this depends on the direction of my life and the changes in the environment in the next few years, but of course, I will try to explore new materials and how to combine them with my current use of 3D printing and latex materials, to complement my main material and create a stronger and more unified style and vision to my artwork.

And lastly, what upcoming projects or exhibitions are you currently working on, and how do they build upon your previous work?

I haven't got a planned exhibition lined up currently, as I have only just exhibited 'Existing in Shadowland' at Artsect Gallery. However, now that the six pieces of my Presence series are complete, I intend to showcase them further in other exhibitions curated by my connections and friends within the London art scene. A lot of work went into my last show, which included 18 artists of various talents. To organize and create such an event takes a lot of time and attention to detail, therefore, I feel the next one needs even more thought and time put into it to truly consider what I want the exhibition to represent and which artists I would like to include who will contribute to the overall quality and intended theme.
To follow on from this project and still build upon the theme of the power of women and its effect on my own life, I am currently experimenting with a new process called plaster casting. My mom often sent me snacks from China that I used to have as a child, and this project focuses on re-creating this snack in a sculpted form. I would often find myself eatingthis snack here in London when I was very tired or feeling upset. It always reminded me of my hometown, my connection to my mom, and her absence from me over the last four years. It is a symbol that keeps me strong and reminds me of the power I've received from my mom; this drives me to succeed here in the UK, collaborate more with the art community, and contribute all I can to the people around me while encouraging creativity through their work.

Artist’s Talk

Al-Tiba9 Interviews is a promotional platform for artists to articulate their vision and engage them with our diverse readership through a published art dialogue. The artists are interviewed by Mohamed Benhadj, the founder & curator of Al-Tiba9, to highlight their artistic careers and introduce them to the international contemporary art scene across our vast network of museums, galleries, art professionals, art dealers, collectors, and art lovers across the globe.