We recently connected with Yanru He and have shared our conversation below.
Yanru, appreciate you joining us today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.
My practice encompass a diverse range of mediums, and I find satisfaction in the continuous process of familiarizing myself with each one. A significant part of my work consists of fabric sculptures and installations, stemming from my early interest in apparel and the necessity of mending my own clothes. While using a sewing machine seems like the straightforward approach, I find a deeper connection through employing predominantly hand sewing techniques in my sculptural works. The tactile sensation of fabrics and threads, with the intimate act of hand sewing, weaves a dialogue with my own body. Pain seems like an inseparable part from this practice. As the needle pricks my fingers from time to time, I reflect on my relationship with the act of creation: there always seems to be a component of discomfort – whether physical or mental – that consistently accompanies my creative process.
During my freshman year of college, I stumbled into the realm of film photography, where the analogue and hands-on nature of the process captivated me. The uncertainty of not immediately knowing the outcome, the tactile experience of processing film in a darkroom, and the delayed gratification of seeing negatives over time brought a sense of stillness and grounding energy to my work. While 35mm film cameras and medium formats felt familiar, mastering large formats required a dedicated practice. As I adapt to the dimensions and weight of large format cameras, I become more comfortable with its processes, and I begin to perceive the machine as an extension of my own body.
During Covid, I took a gap year and spend some time roaming around China. This is when I learned ceramics and traditional metalsmithing. I encountered these crafts during a period of uncertainty about my artistic future and rethinking my entire relationship with the act of pure creation. Questions about the direction of my artistic journey and the discomfort associated with the creative process became central to my introspection. Adapting my body to different crafts became a recurring theme, with days and weeks of painstaking repetition required to familiarize myself with new materials. Despite the disparities between mediums, the creation of functional vessels became a meditative and grounding process, allowing me to reconnect to the pure happiness and genuine desire of making without the need for complex conceptual underpinnings.
The accumulation of experiences across diverse mediums has led to a central concept that I continue to explore — touch-based experiences and the interplay between the body and self-structured spaces.
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 Yanru He, or Ariel, an interdisciplinary artist from Shanghai. Since coming to the States for a bachelor’s degree in sculpture, I have established a practice based in Providence and New York. I only began to dabble in the three-dimensional mediums after I sparked an interest in apparel design. Before that, my art practice has been limited to painting, drawing, and illustration. I remembering showing someone my apparel portfolio, and they pointed out that my designs look more like sculpture on human bodies rather than actual apparel pieces for wearing. At the time, I did not take the comment seriously. It was until I began my studies in college, I realized that my interest lays in the interplay between body and space. Motivated by a desire to create interactive experiences, my practice expanded to encompass other mediums, including photography, video, digital modeling, ceramics, and many more. My practice is centered around touch-based experiences and the relationship between the body and self-structured spaces. Through the invention and reinterpretation of rituals, I explore the interweaving of mythology, history, and present reality.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
A significant lesson I had to unlearn is the belief that solid conceptual foundations were the validation of a coherent or successful artwork. This mindset manifested in my fear of presenting pieces lacking a solid conceptual basis to an audience. I would stress over nailing down a flawless concept before even starting to create, to the point where I would spend weeks just thinking and not making anything. This anxiety also extended to questioning the values of my sculpture, as they were non-functional or money-making — they just sat in the corner of my studio after the critique. However, during my gap year, I encountered ceramics which helped me depart from this conceptual obsession. While learning the skills of wheel-throwing and hand-building was repetitive and occasionally monotonous, I was able to put my hands on the clay and start creating. Even though most of the time, it was without a predefined plan, I felt a sense of liberation. Immersing myself in the pure process of crafting, I discovered relief and genuine desire in shaping vessels with my hands, knowing that they would eventually be used, filled, and touched. Moving away from prioritizing external validation marked a shift towards a more authentic and personally gratifying approach to my artistic practice.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
During my undergraduate journey, I invested a significant amount of time immersing myself in the creative processes of art-making, both individually and through collaborations with fellow artists. Despite the vibrant community within the art school, I began to recognize a challenge in connecting and communicating beyond the academic sphere, particularly in relation to the more professional and business-oriented facets of the art world. In my focus on sculpture, where I explored touch-based experiences and the nuanced interactions between the body and self-structured spaces, I felt a growing inclination toward understanding the intricate dynamics between artists, their works, and the environments they inhabit. This shift in focus sparked my interest in understanding how these elements interact on a broader scale, leading me toward a transition into the art administration field while still maintaining my engagement with artistic practice. Observing my peers’ refreshing perspectives and innovative approaches as they delved into concepts both within and transcending the realm of fine arts, I recognized the importance of bridging the gap between the creative process and the broader art ecosystem. As I reflect on the transformative power of artistic expression, I am compelled to contribute to the dialogue that extends beyond our immediate artistic community. I aspire to play a role in showcasing the voices of the emerging generation of artists, bridging their unique narratives and perspectives with the wider world, promoting understanding and appreciation for the diverse narratives within the realm of contemporary art.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://arielllhhheee.cargo.site/
- Instagram: bieshuile
- Other: vimeo: https://vimeo.com/bieshuile
Image Credits
all images taken by Yanru He / Ariel