- The paradox between the mind and behaviour in waiting: waiting for not waiting.
- Waiting is not necessarily static, it is also dynamic. Sometimes it is mentally stagnating and physically active or in reverse. Waiting could be a continuation of behaviour, a psychological wandering, or a repetition of meaningless.
- Society tries to impose meaning on everything, our words need meaning, our actions need meaning, and we are habitually eager for meaning from things and life.
- Waiting reminds me of people’s wandering feet where there is nowhere to put so I started to use feet often afterwards: it is the most honest body language which exposes people’s emotional expression and carries the meaning of down-to-earth and heaviness.
- Waiting leads me to the core of the theme that I want to talk about: the conflict between the inner and outer; the paradox between subjectivity and objectivity.
- Subjectivity and objectivity have been metaphorically shown in pairs in my works conveying the contradiction between the expectation of the world and the real world.
- I found my rules of choosing material through practice, I tend to play with the original character of the objects, and ambiguous and light elements are prioritised objects. At the same time, the usage of objects brings a reflection of objects to me.
- Half a year ago, my classmate and I discussed whether we understand the materiality and functionality of different forms. The artwork would be shallow if we use media instead of knowing the media. Painting is painting itself first, projection is originally the reappearance of a moving image, and it can only be something more when based on its nature.
- It seems unfamiliar to be very clear about what we are expressing in the moment of creation because we are driven by intuition and instinct, which usually muddles in our minds.
- I find the hypocrisy of this era which is that the less valued something is, the more worthy it is to be a topic, trying to show how much we value it, but the good thing is that such repeated occurrences have at least exposed the topic.
- Art and aesthetics always show up together, but they are two different subjects.
- When it comes to making art instead of doing art, no matter what kind of medium, objective and logical thinking is involved. The process is not as free as we think, it follows a certain expectation from subjectivity.
- When the form and language happen to be similar, the original intention of creation is the essence of maintaining the uniqueness.
- Artwork can be very hypocritical sometimes, it takes advantage of people’s empathy to hide the truth of how hollow it is.
- Externally, the language of art is the form of expression, the content of context; and for the artist, there is also creative rules. In the early stage of creation, artists should first be aware of their own creative rules, and then find their own language on this basis.
- Living in this era, we coincide with it but could not touch its nature. Are we really in sync with what is currently happening? such question has been rooted in my practice.
- Social events are the concretisation of the world form. It develops into anxiety and alienation when it extends to one’s inner world, which could be why we obey or rebel when facing the external world.
- To a certain extent, we use and create subjectively, but to materialistically understand and experience.
- In regard to completing a work, understanding space is as necessary as understanding materials regarding to complete the work. It depends on whether we want to echo, mingle with, or play with it. Mastering space can bring the relationship between the work and space closer to the greatest extent through minimal efforts, such as the observation of the characteristics, the architectural structure, the temperature of the site, etc.
- It seems unnecessary and doesn’t follow the laws of their context when some artworks go massive in size or quantity, all that is left is a sense of “professionalism”.
- Art is not the knowledge of symbolisation and separation of life, it is the practice that is rooted in life; that is said, it is the deformed expression of social form which based on existence and creates a form beyond existence.
Reference
Barthes, R. (1977), The Death of the Author, Image, music, text, pp, 142-148.
Lars S. (2004) A philosophy of Boredom. Reaktion Books.
Claire, B(eds). (2006) Participation: Documents of Contemporary Art. Whitechapel Gallery, London.
Groom, A. (2013) Time: Documents of Contemporary Art. Whitechapel Gallery, London.
Image
Yuanjing Yin, Waiting, 2021
Yuanjing Yin, The feet, 2022
Yuanjing Yin, Things that Never Happened, 2022
Yuanjing Yin, As slow as possible, When I disappear, 2022
Yuanjing Yin, The Other Side, 2022
The author
Yuanjing Yin graduated from Camberwell College of Art. Her practice encircles the paradox of subjectivity and objectivity; usually presents in terms of video installation, sculpture, painting and drawing. Discover more on https://yuanjingyin.cargo.site and @y_yjean