10 Questions with Yu-Ching Wang
Yu-Ching Wang was born in Taipei, Taiwan and now lives and works in New York. She is an interdisciplinary artist and works in video, performative action, spatial installation, and photography. She received her Master's degree in Fine Arts at Pratt Institute in 2022. She also holds a BFA from the Department of Fine Arts focused on Mixed Media at the Taipei National University of the Arts and an MFA in Plastic Arts at the Tainan National University of the Arts. She recently had her solo exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art Taipei and participated in the "Art In Odd Places 2022: STORY" festival in New York City. Her work has been exhibited in France, South Korea, and Serbia and will be exhibited in Italy.
Yu-Ching Wang - Portrait
ARTIST STATEMENT
Yu-Ching's recent works focus on exploring the social and cultural elements in the environment around her through the lens of her identity as a foreigner. Like a social investigator, she makes her artworks through subjective thinking based on objectively observing the living environment and society. She collects information and clues from the outside world, such as abandoned objects in the parks and some seemingly unrelated but concurrent events that happened in New York City. She associates them with her thoughts and personal experience about her race and cultural background. Through intervening in specific situations, such as public spaces, to produce artworks with her perspectives, she enjoys creating unusual and humorous scenes to present hidden critical and political concepts and meanings. She strives for the moment people become aware of unexpected realities provoked by her projects.
Breathing in New York, March 2020 - Video, single-channel, color, with sound, Video Duration 1 minute 10 seconds, 2021 © Yu-Ching Wang
In Breathing in New York, March 2020, Yu-Ching imagined a connection between three seemingly unrelated but concurrent events: the mask mandate resulting from the outbreak of COVID-19, the plastic bag ban, and her personal experience of race in New York City. Once, she was walking on the streets and wearing a mask in Manhattan; two white males passed her and called her '' Chinese, Mask''. That was weird because she was not Chinese, so she thought that if she covered her head, people could not know her identity.
Yu-Ching did a seemingly ridiculous and little sad action of covering her head with a plastic bag with a colorful Key Food label to hide her identity that, at the same time, could be seen as protection against COVID.
The series of photos is the documentation of her walking on the streets wearing a Key Food plastic bag.
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INTERVIEW
First, tell us a little about your background and studies. How did you start making art? And are you still following the same aspiration?
I was born in Taipei, Taiwan, but now reside and work in New York. I am an interdisciplinary artist who works with spatial installation, video, action performance, and photography. I have a BFA in Fine Arts from Taipei National University of the Arts and an MFA in Plastic Arts from Tainan National University of the Arts. I received my MFA in Fine Arts from Pratt Institute in May 2022.
I have enjoyed drawing and painting since childhood. My textbook is constantly filled with my drawings. So, following high school, I chose to enroll in an art school. I did not create any paintings or drawings during my time at art school. I had access to a variety of courses and materials, and I enjoyed experimenting with diverse materials and creating large installations and sculptures with readymades. I began creating site-specific installations, videos, performance art, and photography while focusing on the concepts in my works while pursuing a master's degree. I enjoy creating experimental artwork and am continually experimenting with new artistic approaches to expressing my ideas. During my first semester at Pratt Institute, I got a space on campus and staged a temporary participatory performance on gender issues in art history and racial issues in American education. I am extremely appreciative of my professors, who supported and encouraged me to try and provided me with a wealth of resources and references.
Yes. I am still making art. I believe that art can effect invisible change by revealing what has been overlooked or forgotten.
Breathing in New York, 2021 #2, Photograph, 2021 © Yu-Ching Wang
What is your aim as an artist?
As an artist, I strive to surpass myself constantly. I want to continue to push myself and innovate in the creative process. I hope that every time I create, I will be able to surpass my own limitations and grow as an artist. As a result, I enjoy experimenting with new artistic techniques, media, and materials, and I pay close attention to various social events and issues, as everything can serve as inspiration for my work.
Art allows me to freely express and communicate my thoughts. I use art to uncover subtle anomalies in daily life and to arouse the audience's interest in particular issues. I hope that more people are inspired and moved by my artworks.
Your work across different disciplines, such as video, performative action, spatial installation, and photography. What does your approach to art change in relation to the different mediums?
I believe that form is content. When I have a new idea, I consider which medium is best suited to convey its meaning in the most effective manner. Occasionally, when the artistic form shifts, the audience perceives and feels the work in an entirely new way. In my work <Souvenir>, I experimented with two distinct artistic forms to present the project. The first version resembles multiple documents; each includes a photo, title, and information below it and is affixed to the wall with T-pins. The second version is an installation in which photographs are affixed to the floor, and viewers are able to walk between them. The first form resembles documentation and an index, while the second form encourages audience participation. I have no restrictions concerning the use of artistic media.
Breathing in New York, 2021 #3, Photograph, 2021 © Yu-Ching Wang
Breathing in New York, 2021 #5, Photograph, 2021 © Yu-Ching Wang
In your practice, you draw inspiration from everyday situations and encounters. How do you characterize your art? And how did you develop this style?
My art begins with every random and unplanned occurrence. I enjoy and welcome these serendipitous occurrences of art in my life. I delight in uncovering the abnormal and absurd aspects of everyday life and exposing them through my interpretation and art. Creating art is life for me.
This style appears to be innate. When I was walking down the street, I became interested in the pigeons and trash on the streets and began to observe them; art projects soon followed. It is also a process involving my perceptions and reactions to everything.
It seems like New York is your playground, as it offers you several different objects and situations you can use to develop your work. Do you have any other source of inspiration?
A feeling of helplessness. It is one of my sources of inspiration and can be considered my motivation. The modern world moves at a rapid pace. Everything in society is too rapid and overwhelming, including pandemics, racial issues, social hierarchy, cultural inequality, and environmental pollution, among others. When confronting society, I feel too insignificant and helpless, so I can only laugh louder and louder in frustration. To bypass "heavy" with "light." My works are related to social and political issues that I have witnessed and experienced, but I find it difficult to admit that they are political in nature. At least, I do not wish for political discussions to be "too serious." In order to be more objective and peaceful as a bystander as opposed to a victim, I typically wrap these heavy events in the sense of humor that makes me feel relaxed and at ease to discuss my true thoughts and emotions without emotional reaction.
In your statement, you mention looking at your environment through the lens of your "identity as a foreigner." What are the main differences you find in NY compared to Taipei?
Regarding my identity, the primary distinction is my perspective. Identity is an integral component of my work. When I am confronted by various observed objects, I feel that the answer to who I am is constantly changing. At times, I am a foreigner from Asia; at other times, I am merely a person when I observe trash in parks and animals on the street. Sometimes, as a foreigner living in New York City, I feel as if I am no longer myself, and I feel the need to prove myself. When I was in Taiwan, I did not need to explain my identity to anyone. Everything seemed normal. However, in New York City, there are too many labels attached to me, such as nationality, race, gender, etc., that largely define my personality and character. I often feel that I have lost the opportunity or right to define who I am, and that the real me is no longer significant. As a result of the frustration brought on by the identity issue, I attempt to combat it through my artwork. The procedure is comparable to a silent shout to society. It is comparable to finding myself.
Souvenirs (Souvenir Book), Installation (photos and books), 2022 © Yu-Ching Wang
Yu-Ching went to different parks in New York City and picked up abandoned objects that provided her with information about the city, helped her to imagine what the people of the neighborhood are like, and had an association with her personal experiences and cultural background. Souvenirs include a series of photos and texts as the titles and information of the images. The content of the images is artificial products, which were abandoned in New York City parks, on the artificial turf. The texts below every image include the titles that reflect her perspectives and thoughts that were inspired by this trash and the dates and places that she found these objects.
She was caught by surprise at the amount of trash on the streets when she first arrived in NYC. In the beginning, it was hard to accept the scenes and the smells the trash caused, but gradually she became used to it. When she return to New York City from other cities or countries and smell the odor of the city, she know that she is back. The city itself has a very unique scent. Thus, she thinks the street scene with trash is a kind of a feature of the city.
Souvenirs (Souvenir Book), Installation (photos and books), 2022 © Yu-Ching Wang
How do you think your art would evolve if you moved to another city? What would it have been like if you stayed in Taipei?
If I relocate to a different city, my art will adapt to the new environment. My art is influenced by my life experiences and observations of my living environment; therefore, I cannot predict the appearance of my future works; it will depend on the new environment. However, I'm looking forward to new stimuli and encounters that will inject my artwork with entirely new content.
If I had remained in Taipei, I could only speculate that I would not have created works about my exploration of identity and my curiosity and experience with different cultures, but I cannot predict what my art would look like or how it would evolve. I'm also curious about the artist Yu-Ching Wang's experiences and the works she would create in a parallel universe. Perhaps it is an art project!
Let's talk about the public. What do you want people to read in your works?
I anticipate the moment when people witness or encounter my works and become aware of unanticipated connections and realities prompted by my projects. To be conscious of the important things that are overlooked in daily life, such as a cookie package on the floor, animals, and plants living nearby, unique architectural structures, familiar strangers, etc. I hope that the audience discovers art through my work.
Souvenirs (U.S. tomatoes), Installation (photos and books), 2022 © Yu-Ching Wang
Souvenirs (Blowing Bubble), Installation (photos and books), 2022 © Yu-Ching Wang
Is there any other medium or theme you would like to tackle in the future?
I want to experiment with previously unexplored fields, such as public intervention, community engagement, sound art, and undefined media. Unknown and novel things always excite me. I anticipate the creative sparks that are inevitable in art. I also wish to increase my knowledge of American culture and society, including immigrant communities, racial issues, poverty and inequality, women's and children's rights, and more. I also hope that, while working abroad, I can convey Taiwanese characteristics and culture to foreign audiences through my works.
Finally, do you have any upcoming exhibitions or collaborations? Any new projects you want to share with us?
I will take part in Art in Odd Places 2022: STORY, a visual and performance festival in New York City, which is a three-day art event on September 23-25, 2022. Many artists will present visual and performance art along 14th Street in Manhattan, NYC, from Avenue C to the Hudson River. During AiOP: STORY, I will be working on my <Breathing in New York> series and walking down 14th Street while wearing a Key Food plastic bag over my head to protect myself from COVID-19.
