Meet Yan Wang | Visual Artist & Printmaker

We had the good fortune of connecting with Yan Wang and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Yan, can you tell us more about your background and the role it’s played in shaping who you are today?
Growing up in China within a specific and non-universal political frame, my identity plays an essential role in my artworks, even if they are composed here in the States.

I have spent the past one year to create animated shorts utilizing frame-by-frame monoprints, which pays tribute to my printmaking background. The narrative of the animations centers around the female identity, and how this life of an individual can reflect common themes of a bigger group of women.
Since 1979, China has begun the so call one-child policy, which make it illegal for a woman to have more than one child. The application of the policy leads to many brutal and inhumane approaches, including huge fines and force abortion. This policy suppressed women in a way that objectify their fertility, and turned it into a weapon against them.

As the political environment has drastically shifted in the modern China, I try to communicate this history that’s rarely discussed, and hope the audiences can understand the traumas women had gone through under that.

I personally belong to the “one-child” generation, thus is able to carry the burden of older generation of moms, and move forward with new insights of how a woman’s life can be living like.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Getting into printmaking was a total surprise, but I guess if one keeps their eyes out seeking, they can always get somewhere new that they commit to. Ever since I landed here to study illustration, drawing had never been enough for me as a form of art making. It’s all nice and fun on the tablet, but what’s next? Then through an elective course, I stepped into the world of printmaking. It is an ocean of techniques based out of physical and chemical reaction of the materials, and through the crafts, I can see the history in many arts calling from way back.

Over that year of studying and practicing various print mediums, I think what set me apart now in my works, is that I started to use prints as a vehicle for sequential works. Copies, really, is what printmaking is about: making multiples that all look the same. But what if I bring it to frame-by-frame animation? I utilized monoprints, which produces unique prints on paper, to bring my narrative to life outside of the scope of still images. In a world that is marching forward, and our paces speeding up, there’s not many that still commit to traditional animation process, despite that making prints can be more time consuming on top of that. However, I believe that the paper and the ink, the materials breath while creating stories through images. That’s why I decided to stick to the process in my artworks.

Since not many are doing the same thing in their artmaking, I have run into questions that doubt if my approach is “worth it”. All the effort serves the storytelling, and I’m glad that I kept it going, to present the audiences stories about underspoken history of Chinese women.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Now I’m based in Brooklyn, NY, I would most definitely drag my friend out of the zone of Manhattan. Stay around Prospect Park, or the Greenpoint area, where life can be so cozy there by the nature. This is also such a diverse community full of immigrant cultures, so for good eats, request whichever you want, and we can always find a spot. This Yemeni seafood place up in Astoria, or straight up to Flushing, the chinatown of Queens, will immediately bring one into different worlds. Vegan Ethiopian or Thai food, fresh Cha-shu buns and rice rolls, anything you can imagine you would most likely find here.

I really think the charm of New York is that, in such a big and busy area, each individual put in their full effort to nurture their own life, and they take pride in that. Switch your sight from the tall standing towers to the people walking down the street, they are the soul of the city’s energy.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I want to dedicate this shoutout to my friends, who over the years have provided me with a sense of belonging and a place to call home throughout my journey in the United States, pursuing my art and ideals.

Coming to a new country on my own, I used to believe that everyone comes and goes alone, especially back in my home country where individuality is often overshadowed by the collective. However, stepping out of that zone, I have discovered the true meaning of community, even while being away from “my own”. It’s not about fitting in or conforming to a hierarchy, but rather about the beautiful resonance that comes from the depths of our hearts.

Website: wangyan30.art

Instagram: @awyart

Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/user165082312

Image Credits
Hansen Joyce Liang Yan Wang