[ ~ ]
2016
You can say it is a wave, a melody, water , or an island in the middle of ocean.
2016
You can say it is a wave, a melody, water , or an island in the middle of ocean.
Opening Reception : Monday May 9, 5pm - 8pm
Gallery Hours: May 9 Tuesday - May 13 Friday, 10am - 5pm Or by appointment - yenyenjuilai@gmail.com
Location: Dekalb Gallery Pratt Institute 200 Willoughby Ave Brooklyn NY 11205
A letter to you:
I named my solo show [ ~ ] to combine everything together. The shape “~” contains all of the elements in my works. You can say it is a wave, water, melody, time, or an island in the middle of the sea. I wanted to show not only my works, but
also my understanding of life in the show.
As before, I took water as a medium, and filled the whole gallery with imaginary water. I drew a line across all of the walls as water level. The line is always a little bit higher than my nose, so I can remember all the time that I have to keep swimming. To contain the water in the room, I mounted a plug on the wall in the show. Every work was connected by water, and for audiences who came to my show, they became the swimmers. They swam in the gallery, interacting with each other, and they were parts of my works. During my opening reception, I served only water and salt for the guests, welcoming them to enter my world.
I started to make works in isolation, but in the end I tried to share my solitude with everyone. In my mind, isolation is the shape of a circle, like an island. After two years living in New York, the circle is growing bigger and bigger. Distance is a physical idea, and you cannot change it. However, if our minds grow larger, then the feeling of distance becomes smaller.
I always think artists have the responsibilities to society, and I try to find these connections in my works. I understand I am not the type of artist who makes art about politics, the environment, or global issues. But I think internal feeling and external realities are equally important. I hope I can build a bridge between the audiences and myself, so I need to keep making art, and trying to understand more about the world we live in together.
This is what I am trying to share about my understanding of life.
Yen
I named my solo show [ ~ ] to combine everything together. The shape “~” contains all of the elements in my works. You can say it is a wave, water, melody, time, or an island in the middle of the sea. I wanted to show not only my works, but
also my understanding of life in the show.
As before, I took water as a medium, and filled the whole gallery with imaginary water. I drew a line across all of the walls as water level. The line is always a little bit higher than my nose, so I can remember all the time that I have to keep swimming. To contain the water in the room, I mounted a plug on the wall in the show. Every work was connected by water, and for audiences who came to my show, they became the swimmers. They swam in the gallery, interacting with each other, and they were parts of my works. During my opening reception, I served only water and salt for the guests, welcoming them to enter my world.
I started to make works in isolation, but in the end I tried to share my solitude with everyone. In my mind, isolation is the shape of a circle, like an island. After two years living in New York, the circle is growing bigger and bigger. Distance is a physical idea, and you cannot change it. However, if our minds grow larger, then the feeling of distance becomes smaller.
I always think artists have the responsibilities to society, and I try to find these connections in my works. I understand I am not the type of artist who makes art about politics, the environment, or global issues. But I think internal feeling and external realities are equally important. I hope I can build a bridge between the audiences and myself, so I need to keep making art, and trying to understand more about the world we live in together.
This is what I am trying to share about my understanding of life.
Yen