10 Questions with Wenhui Jiang (Untitled-egg)

Wenhui Jiang (b.1996) is a London-based visual artist who works with multi-disciplinary subjects and media. She graduated with an MA in experimental communication from the Royal College of Art in 2023. Wenhui is fascinated by exploring critical visual narratives. She uses the philosophy of pessimism as a lens filter for observing the outside.

wenhui-untitled-egg.com | @oo0untitled_egg

ARTIST STATEMENT

In Wehnhui's research and practice, she takes herself as the object of observation. To see herself as an open container, from which he explores the definition and transformation of individual identities in the entanglement of interaction with the outside world. Wenhui uses her work as a tool to research the impact of the era and society behind the individual. In addition, science fiction, Cult films, and video games had a profound influence on Wenhui's visual language. During her MA study, She explored using visual fictionalization and world-building as the method to experiment with critical storytelling. Using gamification as a further exploration of its experimental narratives model. Her work is focused on creating a communication model of cryptic visual narrative, combining symbolic and chaotic quirky visual aesthetics that aim to build an uncanny dimension to rethink reality.

INTERVIEW

What is your artistic background, and how did you start experimenting with art?

I graduated from art school as an undergraduate. And after three years of public art studies, I went through a long period of confusion and finally chose to switch to visual communication as my major. I think I really started experimenting with art after I graduated with BA. I had a gap year of almost two years, during which covid19 happened, and I realized that the power of language was sometimes scarce. It was then that I started to incorporate my thoughts and observations into my work. After experimenting with graphic design, photography, installation, and material experimentation, I am now focusing on visual narratives. 

Why are you an artist, and when did you first decide to become one?

I don't actually think I'm a real artist at this stage. But what I can say for sure is that I am heading down that path. People who major in visual communication are logically assumed by the public to be a designer after graduation. As I studied this major in BA, I realized that I didn't have a lot of interest in traditional graphic design. I prefer design for research more than design for service, and I don't want my work to just communicate commercial needs. Studying at the Royal College of Art has given me the confidence to become an artist. Rather than saying I am an artist, I think it's more about finding a way to become yourself. Because being yourself is more important than anything else. 

You work with both digital art and illustration. Why did you choose them, and how did they influence your practice? 

I think illustration is a very powerful form of expression. In my practice, I don't call them illustrations; they are a fundamental part of the world that my images build. My work is always based on narrative, and illustration allows my vision to wander freely between realistic and unrealistic. It can recreate some new possibilities in the blurred border.
Regarding Digital art, I think it expands the boundaries of communication. For instance, my work Loads to the crack runs on the Unreal engine game platform and provides an interaction space. Through way of world-building, it shows my perspective on the relationship between AI and human beings. In this world, it doesn't ask questions or provide answers; it constructs a possibility of the future. The audience feels free to walk inside; all they need is to enjoy or observe the kind of strange street view. Digital art, such as gamification visuals, could help me to avoid didactic works and allow me to represent my concept from a more open point of view.

Speaking of your work, you reflect on the relationship between humans and technology. How did you get interested in this subject?  

My generation, being the only child era of China, grew up with the rapid development of the internet and technology. I have been obsessed with PC games (such as The Sims) and surfing the web since I was about ten years old. It's fair to say that a large part of what I know and understand has been shaped a lot by the internet. Setting aside the extreme addiction to the internet as a teenager, as I get older, I begin to feel that the internet and technology have made us more and more in a technological cocoon.
While technology has evolved, it has also caused many new issues. Social media abuse, information overload, smartphone separation anxiety, etc. As humans live in modern society, we are becoming more and more entangled with technology. I believe that we are on the road to posthuman. I don't think humans are the ones manipulating technology or that technology can completely dominate humans, but the relationship is by no means one-way and is mutually influential. There will be more and more emerging ethical issues between humans and technology. And we are the protagonists who are deeply involved in it. 

What messages are you trying to convey with your works?

Through my work, it seeks to establish a concern for the entanglement between humans and non-humans; it's the ethics of artificial intelligence. We find ourselves increasingly dependent on AI and algorithms. Invisible, we develop emotional attachments to them. We should find a healthy way to coexist with AI, even if AI has its own consciousness. It's easy to be afraid of AI, but we neglect to think, do they fear us? I try to think of the project as more of a radical sentiment to convey, a warning. When we feel threatened by technology, maybe the threat has already come to our eyes.

Your statement mentions pessimism as a filter you apply in creating your work. Can you tell us more about it? And how do you use this idea? 

Philosophical pessimism has always been present in my work. It provides a relatively radical perspective that allows me to think and create more critically. In the world of loading to the crack, I set up humans as fossils in this AI world. They are frozen in a moment of worship of technology, and humans are lifeless only as a streetscape. AI species are new species that emerge from the pages of artificial intelligence, and they are the masters of this seamy world. I use pessimism as a filter to examine the possible ethical relationship between algorithms and people. This perspective serves as a compass for my mode of practice, and the possibilities presented in my work are a pessimistic vision of the future. I try to convey more of a radical sentiment through the project, a warning. When we feel threatened by technology, maybe the threat has already come to our eyes.
One of my favorite artists says, "A pessimist sees the world realistically. Not wallowing in pain, but being honest with reality." The framework provided by pessimistic philosophy enables me to use vision as a powerful tool to reproduce some hidden and neglected problems in a more realistic way.

Do you have anything else you would like to experiment with?

In the future, I want to further explore the media of gamification and film. While creating the loading to the crack project, I learned about game engine software and my interest in the gamification approach. Also, the film medium is an area that I have always wanted to explore.

Speaking of experimentation, your work looks almost like video games. Did you experiment with the Metaverse and VR technologies?

To be honest, I personally am not that much interested in Metaverse currently. About VR, I think that although VR devices can give a more immersive feeling, it is too virtual in a sense for me. Given the two mediums, I'd prefer to try interactive visuals, such as coding and processing forms. 

What are you working on right now? Are any exciting projects or exhibitions coming up soon?

I am currently working on my graduation project. The project is based on a visual tone of irony and dark humor through a metaphorical narrative of illness. It attempts to explore how the perception of the identity of chronic pain patients in a post-humanist context is influenced by the outside world. From personal experience, it highlights the marginalization of the chronic pain patient community. Meanwhile, the collaborative project I created last year was exhibited at the new art city festival and the Berlin Student Digital Art Festival at the end of April.

Finally, where do you see yourself five years from now?

I hope I can become an accomplished digital visual artist after five years and continue to create sincerely. I hope I can keep my enthusiasm for creation. 

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.