10 Questions with Sirui Yang

Sirui Yang (b.2000) is an emerging interdisciplinary creative thinker and practitioner from Nanjing, China, currently studying and living in Melbourne, Australia. In the past three years, she has exhibited in art spaces both in Melbourne and in international fields, such as 2022 Big Amygdala Energy Zine Launch, Science Gallery Melbourne & SIGNAL, Australia; The FAITH in Pandemic Times, Incinerator Gallery, Moonee Valley, Australia; INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY 3.0, Platform Exhibitions, Melbourne, Australia; 2021 The 3rd Winner of NEMESIS (virtual), The Holy Art Gallery, London, UK; Fifty Square Art Prize, Brunswick Street Gallery, Melbourne, Australia; Contemporary Venice 2021, Venice, Italy; 2020 Amended 2020 Online Grad Show, RMIT, Australia.

Additionally, she also has participated in the planning, volunteering, and execution of some events as curator and Co-curator, such as 2022, Co-curator, Big Amygdala Energy Zine, Science Gallery Melbourne & SIGNAL, Australia (magazine launch ); 2021 Co-curator, 'Frunce', Trocadero Art Projects, Australia; 2019 Curator, SINposium x Natural Spirits, RMIT, Australia. I also worked as the MC in MMEETs - Resident Reflection: Close to Home, MPavilion & SIGNAL.

Recently, Sirui has had a strong passion for exploring how aesthetic forms in nature have inspired the development of her jewellery project in creating its unique aura or atmosphere, as she wants to evoke her unique feelings of the vitality in nature. Her recent art practices encompass drawing and painting, digital illustration, photography also installation art. Through spontaneous thinking and interdisciplinary exploration, she gradually discovered that innocence (natural essence) and profoundness (complexity) form a complementary relationship in her creation. As far as Sirui is concerned, this kind of complementarity in contemporary fields, especially the collision between human civilization and nature, inspires Sirui to find the eternity belonging to the ontology in the ever-changing environment.

www.siruiyangart.com | @si____rui

ARTIST STATEMENT

Yang Sirui was born in 2000 in Nanjing, China, the ancient capital of the six dynasties. She often describes herself as a Martian, but she has now left to officially embark on a grand tour of space.

Sirui is currently studying and living in Nanjing, China, and Melbourne, Australia. As an emerging artist of the younger generation, Sirui is walking in various fields of fine arts, such as drawing and painting on canvas, digital illustration, photography, video, jewelry design, and production. At the same time, she is constantly exploring and practicing to find new ways of expression and art carriers that suit her.

In terms of creation, she believes that innocence and profoundness form a complementary relationship. Her works often make people feel full of innocence and imagination. Meanwhile, she also has a certain in-depth discussion on relationships between humans and nature, cultural diversity, current social situations, and world issues. Sociology (sociological theory, etc.), psychology (analytical psychology, cognitive psychology, social psychology, etc.), humanities (philosophy, religion, art), etc., are the fields involved in her works in recent years.

In 2019, Sirui began her study and practice in fine art at RMIT in Melbourne, Australia.
Sirui has no academic experience in this field before, but she believes that interest is the first driving force.
When she was still in kindergarten, her experience was similar experiences to many other kids, getting involved with singing, dancing, drawing also playing chess, and so on. Drawing gradually became what accompanied her and witnessed her growth. Until now, it still remains. Although she stopped for more than 4 years due to her busy study, Sirui did not completely give up learning and creating works.

INTERVIEW

First of all, introduce yourself to our readers. How did you get interested in art, and how did you start experimenting with images?

Hello people, you can call me Sirui. Since kindergarten, I have been keen to look up at the sky, the nature, especially to observe the shape changes of clouds under the wind and the sun. For a split second, the clouds would play in my mind as strange creatures, and sometimes I wondered if they were all real, which brought a peculiar feeling. Most of the children of our generation in China were sent by their parents to various interest classes to increase their knowledge and cultivate their hobbies when they were young. At that time, I was 6-7 years old. I was learning Go chess and dance, so I didn't learn how to draw at first. The opportunity to really start exploring art was discovered by my Go chess teacher one day when I was learning chess. That day, my chess friend and I ended the chess game, and the teacher came over to analyse the chess game for us. To be honest, I was a little absent-minded at the time. I didn't have a lot of interest in those boring theoretical knowledge. Everything was because Go chess was a popular interest and could exercise logical ability. So when the teacher asked me what I saw on the chessboard, my intuition did not lead me to analyse my winning or losing, advancing or retreating; all I saw were the shapes of butterflies and horses. The teacher didn't reprimand me. He then gave my mum feedback on my situation. Mum also realised that I might have a talent and passion for painting. So I went to learn painting and gradually discovered my aptitude and aesthetic tendency in watercolour, oil painting, and sketching. During my growth, I also cultivated some other interests, but due to the pressure of schoolwork and personality, only drawing/painting has accompanied me through one stage after another in my life over the long years. It's always there for me, whether I'm happy or sad, like a close friend or a part of my life. It is the hobby (which will be life-long) that accompanies me the longest in my life, even longer than music. (And now, I'm exploring both 2d and 3d arts.)

In your statement, you describe yourself as a Martian, officially embarked "on a grand tour of space". Tell us more about it. 

Self-proclaimed Martian conveys both a pessimistic and a positive side. Originally because I thought I was special, and as I grew up, I cherished my specialness more and more (i.e., rich imagination (also recognised by those who admire me around me), my hobbies, my spiritual will), for example, when looking at the same thing, relative to other people, I will cut in from multiple angles, and sometimes I will find aspects that others have not noticed (also because I have experienced most of the unrecognised aspects of growing up in the past) situation, gradually develop the ability of independent thinking, insight into the environment and critical thinking, etc.). Therefore, because of this special situation, I sometimes face challenges from the environment, which I need to overcome, and even be adapted to a situation that is not understood and isolated. As I grew up, I gradually became less lively and cheerful than when I was a child. I have a lot of stress, doubts, and worries. Especially when I was studying in China, I felt that I and the surrounding environment were incompatible with people in some ways. But I know it's not anyone's right or wrong. It's just because of our different choices, different trade-offs, and factors such as the growth environment. So when I am not understood, all I need to do is to protect my speciality, protect my hobbies, and protect my spiritual will while getting along as well as possible with my surroundings.
During this time, I also started to be obsessed with Surrealism, Salvador Dali is my soul mentor and friendly companion who's living in another time and space. If others can't understand my stubbornness and strangeness, besides my family, at least one person can understand my strangeness, and that is Dali.
After coming to Melbourne, a Martian needs to accept the challenge of living alone in a foreign country. To me, also, it's a new start, I want to be lively again and open-minded, be a new self!
Like other international students, in addition to art projects at school, I also need to learn how to deal with life affairs, such as learning to cook, life planning, financial management, etc., and at the same time making life tasteful. These are also what I'm still learning. During my studies, I like to participate in extracurricular activities, not only in school activities but also in extracurricular activities. Participating in activities makes me grow, more open-minded and bold. I hope to establish communication with people on earth from different cultural backgrounds and age groups.
Understand and discover a new self in the process of knowing and feeling the world around me!

What do you think differentiates your art from others? 

It is the combination of similarities and differences with others that have gradually formed my own unique artistic creation. We are all human beings, and we all have some resonance with both physical and mental experiences. I'm still exploring my own uniqueness and artistic language, and there's a lot to build and improve. Part of the answer I've gotten so far is: that my imagination, my recent upbringing, and my perception of nature complement each other in my artistic presentation. I love nature more than some people, and I want to share what I see and how I feel with the people on earth who care and appreciate it. This is a great question to ask ourselves at every stage of our life growth. I believe my audience has their own answers.

Can you tell us about the process of creating your work? Where do you find inspiration and how do you translate it into your work?

Most of my inspiration comes from imagination and perception of nature — shapes, colours, smells, and the Aura of everything and person. In addition, I also "absorb nutrients" from different academic fields. Without the purpose of creation, I just want to understand and read multi-fields of philosophy, sociology, psychology, science, biology, literature, archaeology, etc.
Art is more than the "art" that only lives on books or walls. Art is a method of understanding me and surroundings; it is the way of thinking and exploring, the way to introduce all of these I harvest into my creations. (Art is a way to observe and explore the world around me. It can be not only one or more projections of a particular object on me but also the unique inner connections of various objects on me.) When I know and come into contact with things in various fields that I am curious about and interested in further in-depth understanding, I will gradually generate unique ideas or inspiration, it naturally happens. 
Before going to university, I had already explored different 2D art techniques. After coming to Melbourne, although I experienced lockdown, I did not stop connecting with the outside world. Because I have been introverted enough for "ages", nothing can stop me from building a new part of my personality, even if it is the lockdown. I still kept my curiosity and enriched my art experience both inside and outside the school. In this process, in addition to learning professional skills, I generated my interest in contemporary art, especially art in biomorphic features, and also have knowledge and contact with 3D and even the emerging pop art media and platforms in recent years. During my two-year undergraduate study in Gold and Silversmithing at RMIT University, Australia, I followed Dr. Mark Edgoose to study Titanium anodising, and most recently, I'm applying 3D Modelling to my jewellery design. (Most of my jewellery works are made from titanium with intricate patterns in rich, vibrant colours. Titanium anodising is an electrolytic finishing process that manipulates the oxide layer on the surface of titanium via electric current. Using this process, one could obtain a wide range of colours, which can be essentially an optical illusion after multi-layering anodising. The titanium item forms the anode (positive electrode) of an electrolytic cell; hence the name "anodise.”)

What messages do you want to convey with your work?

Animism - the Aura of an individual, no matter the size of the creature, each artwork has or will develop its own personality and aura. They are like those plants and animals growing in the forest; each plant has its own experience and Character traits, they can be real and absurd in their own way, they can also be innocent and beautiful, they can be silent but they can also talk or tweet. 
(In the essay that I introduce my jewellery and research, I have written): Our knowledge of the natural environment around us is as necessary as our knowledge of the social environment. Adaptation, in terms of genes, and rapid change is a normal state of nature; just like human society, we can only build a better ecological environment by constantly learning, encouraging each other, improving, and growing together. In my making process, I treat my pieces as if they are human beings and I try to build in their own personality through my selection of colour and form. I also try to infuse them with a sense of vitality by using transparent materials which catch the light and appear to be dancing in the air. Artistic creation is not only about expression and output; in the process, we are also gradually understanding more about and enhancing our own unique and beautiful character traits.  
The human spirit's perception of the natural environment is about cultivating a sense of awe in nature's intricate wonders, allowing the observer to detach from the self and perceive the subtle interplay between subject and object. Infusing the soul and letting the work generate its unique aura is a positive step in the creative process. As an art thinker and practitioner, I hope to work with forms with a unique temperament and allow each piece to shape its inherent vitality and aura. 
Of course, this is my recent discovery and self-analysis, and I am still on the way to exploring, looking forward to the next art trip.

Is there anything else you would like to experiment with?

I hope that in my limited life, I can improve the artistic medium I have learned so far, and I hope that I can be braver and bolder than ever in my creation, even though I have experienced ups and downs.
Firstly, I hope that I can publish my personal illustration collection (I am still groping, but this is my initial dream and goal of exploring art at the beginning.) If anyone would like to collaborate with me, please contact me as soon as possible, I can't wait!
Secondly, I hope that I can create larger installation art. I hope to be able to communicate with different societies or scientific research organisations to cooperate on issues related to the sustainable development of nature and food.
I'm also currently preparing to apply for my master's degree in arts and cultural management. The direction will be nature sustainability or book illustration for children and young adults related.

You work with several different mediums and techniques, what do you think of digital art and NFTs? Do you plan to try them or have you launched a series yet?

To me, art occupies the largest proportion of my life, and life is full of uncertainty; art also follows. I will first understand any emerging art medium or form before deciding whether to participate. Currently, I have participated in online exhibitions but have not participated in NFTs. Because I think this needs to be determined according to the artist's self-value of art and artistic expression. On the one hand, the emergence of NFT Arts decentralises the art market and forms, but on the other hand, I think in the future, it may also be replaced by other newer art forms. 
There is no right or wrong to participate or not participate. I would say, maybe join NFT 2.0 or never.
In the past, our art was more for the nobles, but the trend of decentralisation is more and more obvious. In fact, many people think that the rise of art like NFT is a manifestation of decentralisation. I understand, but I don't fully agree that there is no substitute for this art, and it is now in a decentralised way on the blockchain forever and ever, In just one year, it became so popular that I thought, in the next few years, if there are more art forms similar to NFT, will there be a new kind of centralisation? But back to the topic of decentralisation, not only art, and technology developing more and more personalised application management and services (Bitcoin/digital currency, etc.), many other categories are actually figured out, every field is gradually decentralised, and more diverse and being respectful for personalised development.

Do you find that the shift to digital exhibitions and art fairs has helped you promote your work?

I would say that there are benefits and inconveniences. As an art creator, I think online exhibitions do save a lot of human, material, and time costs, such as transportation costs and complicated customs procedures, but at the same time, we may also face some other problems. Of course, we must also consider the way in which works of art are presented, whether the artwork is more suitable for online exhibitions or offline exhibitions. As an audience, I would personally prefer to go to offline exhibitions, so that I can really feel the attraction and gravitation of the works from all angles in the exhibition venue. It is also because I like immersion, tasting slow, and following my own rhythm and browsing order. As a creator myself, that's another level, but I consider the connection I have with the audience, to an audience, the shift, probably the same goes for reading a book or watching a movie of the same story.

What do you think about the art community and market?

I think everything is developing with the characteristics of the times. Maybe in the future, there will be aliens or Martians in my audiences and art community, even robots/AI, and even other unknown species. I have some anticipation and curiosity. What I know now is that my art has or will have a place in the hearts of people who care about nature and love nature. I'm still building my art community, accumulating my scope, know more about my target audiences. Hope to be known internationally in the future.

Finally, any projects you are looking forward to for this year?

Since this year is the final year of my undergraduate degree, I have more focused on school projects, now I have completed the final semester works design drawings, and now I am in the process of forming them into reality, I will also plan my first solo exhibition if time and schedule permit. It's a new challenge for me, but I'll enjoy the challenge. Meanwhile, I also applied for one or two exhibition projects, hoping to be selected. Finally, looking forward to finishing the outdoor shot of the final jewellery pieces this year and sending the photo portfolio to a jewellery magazine that contacted me before.