We recently connected with Marco Chan and have shared our conversation below.

Marco, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

“Trees- Savannah” is my first long-term project. It is the most meaningful and rewarding project I’ve ever worked on.

The images are photographed with a self-made pinhole camera. I have chosen the subject of trees. At first, I photograph them purely to capture their beauty in forms and shapes. After the critiques with peers and friends, I found the real reason.

I have been a Boy Scout for over ten years. The deep bonding with nature created in scouting life initiates me to look for plants and trees. When I went to Savannah, GA, to study photography, I was amazed by the gorgeous trees in the city, discovering a great contrast compared to my hometown, Hong Kong, a concrete forest.

On top of that, I have discovered all my other projects and ideas interrelate with Hong Kong. All my inspiration, thoughts, and perception of the world originate from the city I grew up.

From this project, I have deepened the understanding of my ideas and my identity as an artist. In the future, I want to engage nature with different approaches to photography and explore its unlimited boundaries.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I am an artist who thinks a lot about the daily encounter of life. Heavily influenced by Hong Kong, where I was born and grew up, I noticed the mixed contradistinction of buildings, cultures, and objects created following the rapidly developing global metropolis.

My works focus on the contrast created by the everchanging time and provoking thoughts and memories towards the space. I want to remind the viewer that things could change the other day; every “daily encounter” is not forever. I incorporate personal experience with subjects, thoughts on topics, and observation. Photography is the medium I choose to create works that hope to trigger viewers’ insight, even physical activity, other than enjoying the visual.

The audience is pulled closer to the subject and faces the questions and thoughts internally from my approach to each project, mixed with their existing belief. Thus, a form of interaction and reflection was created with my works.

As a Senior at Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). I am passionate about the traditional photographic process. Mainly use different formats of film and kinds of photo printmaking processes. Silver Gelatin Prints are one of the methods I utilize in my recent projects. (E.g. “After Walker Evans” – 2022) I will learn other alternative processes from Professor Craig Stevens in the coming year.

Intending to become a professional photo printmaker, I prepare to incorporate my technical skills and artistic vision to help others visualize their stories and push the image to show themselves.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

I would say education supports art appreciation in society. Been living in Hong Kong for over twenty years; there are big auction houses hosting artwork auctions, while the path of being an artist in the city is not supported and labeled as a choice of the rich.

Hong Kong people do not appreciate art until profitable; they view Art Museums as tourist attractions. There are few opportunities to observe and think about the efforts and ideas behind a piece of artwork. People treat art as grandstanding with inadequate interpretation, which is an unhealthy way to treat art culture.

Hong Kong is very profit and result-oriented, leading to a non-expressive society. However, the culture basic of the people is also critical. Indeed, education can help with early exposure to art and learning to perceive beauty with unlimited aesthetics. It also promotes art that is not exclusive to the artist but to everyone. Art is a form of expression and relaxation when taken as a hobby.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

It is difficult to understand the effort and struggle behind eye-catching works. I remember a professor when I was a freshman told us the story of Picasso selling artwork to a client, and the client would love other sketches from him. Picasso offered $10000 for the single-page drawing, and the client did not understand the reason for the high price. Picasso answered each stroke of the sketch is the result of decades of training and practice.

This story lays in my heart to understand that not everyone would have an idea of how much effort the artist gave into the artwork they appreciate today. In photography, we produce hundreds of thousands of wasted paper and electrical power behind a single image. Everything seems too simple, especially in photography and the digital age. Recognition of sweat behind the scene is essential for the artist.

Nothing comes out of nowhere; every showcase of an artist is a showcase of their heart.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://marcoycmedia.wixsite.com/marcoyc
• Instagram: @marcoycportraits
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yat-chun-chan-957a22197

Image Credits
All images © Yat Chun Chan, All right Reserved