We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Fan Yu. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Fan below.
Fan, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your creative career sooner or later?
My artistic career is taking place at the right time. As long as I maintain belief, every moment becomes the best timing and the perfect arrangement for me.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I received a DSLR camera as a college gift from my parents, and since then, I have embarked on the path of photography. Although my undergraduate major didn’t have much to do with art, photography has become an indispensable part of my life due to my desire to capture reality. Intrigued by the creation of images, I mastered many basic photography principles through self-study and became a freelance photographer for five years. As time passed, I realized I lacked formal academic education in photography. If one’s vision is limited to one’s cognitive range, it isn’t easy to gain new inspiration. The application of technology does not solely limit photography; evaluating and creating works that resonate requires motivation from new environments. It is with this understanding that I aim to enrich my knowledge of photography by pursuing a master’s degree.
Upon entering the Photography, Video, and Related Media department at the School of Visual Arts, I discovered that pictures could only represent a fraction of my conception. I began experimenting with video creation and various mediums. My artistic practice revolves around the roles of social and philosophical constructions in signification. With a strong focus on everyday life, I integrate commonplace objects into my creations, utilizing photography, video, and installation mediums.
After graduating, I teamed up with a friend who had been my companion in graduate school to co-found OHuo LLC—an innovative, creative studio in the art world that offers diverse artistic visual services and spans various artistic expressions. But the main purpose of the studio is to encourage artists to connect and get to know each other. Both the studio’s goal and my own – to transcend traditional boundaries and tell stories creatively and visually.
Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?
My artistic works always draw inspiration from philosophical books. The book “The Burnout Society” offers some insights into what has influenced my recent new project. In it, Byung-Chul Han, a German writer, critiques the state of the human spirit in the age of digital media. This book analyzes depression, burnout, and stress as society-wide phenomena, characteristics of the late-modern experience. It questions our hectic lifestyles in the 21st century and illustrates that people live in a society overwhelmed by consumption and work. Another project was inspired by French philosopher Baudrillard’s book “Why Hasn’t Everything Already Disappeared.”The author makes a point in the book – technology blurs the line between the digital world and reality. In digitalization, the disappeared objects and the traces of passing are captured by eternal image replay.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
When my exhibited artworks provoke contemplation in the gallery.
Contact Info:
- Website: shaoumeeco.com
- Instagram: shaoumeeco
Image Credits
Portrait credit: Nir Arieli