Interview
Yichan Wang
Yichan Wang is a visual designer based in New York City. She enjoys translating complex ideas into captivating stories. With a career spanning brand, web, and motion design, she crafts compelling experiences that leave a lasting impression.
What is your background and how did you start your journey in the art world?
“My journey in art began in college in 2014. I thought I was going to study sociology or psychology, because I was interested in understanding people’s stories through social sciences. That year, I took my first drawing class out of curiosity, and fell in love with it. I found that visual art was a more intuitive way for me to engage with people and capture their stories, and I wanted to do it all the time. So I decided to study fine arts. In my free time, I was involved in a lot of theater productions. Because of my arts skill set, I frequently did graphic design and set design for these shows. That was how I discovered my interest in design as a vehicle to pursue storytelling. I began working as a designer in 2017, initially in theater, but I didn’t love the industry. By 2019, I had a lot of experience working in traditional mediums, but I was curious about emerging technologies and new media. Pursuing an MFA in Design and Technology was a natural next step. I used the opportunity to explore different mediums, blending digital design, interaction design, and animation into my practice. Today, my professional work involves branding, web, and motion design. In my spare time, I sketch scenes of NYC and make comics.”
What inspires you?
“I am most inspired by the creative and talented people in my circles. Making art has been how I form deep connections with many of my friends. Their stories, their processes, and their perspectives continually fuel my creativity. For instance, in 2020, my friend Daniel Young wrote a song called “Results”. When we discussed the piece, we delved into the connection between the microscopic and macroscopic, from cells to planets, how these extremities shape a modern vision of the world. This conversation led me to collaborate with him on the animated music video “Results” (2021), visually exploring this concept of scaling and perspective. In recent years, I have also found myself drawn to the narratives that emerge when people interact with places. My work often begins with an intrigue about how places embody stories deeply significant to individuals. One current project exemplifying this interest is an AR app that I'm designing. It allows users to leave site-specific messages, akin to digital graffiti, blending personal narratives with physical spaces.”
What themes do you pursue? Is there an underlying message in your work?
“I have an affinity for projects that tell stories. Stories are where we dive into the complexities of a subject to emerge with a nuanced understanding. My work is the act of uncovering stories, discovering the complexities between fragments of events. It’s an exploration rather than an imposition of themes. I find that people often hastily assign themes and stories to others and their surroundings. It’s a practical shortcut to create order in a chaotic world, but it creates oversimplified narratives. So when I’m uncovering a story, I resist assigning underlying messages for as long as possible. I have to be patient, tease out the ambiguities, let nuances surface. Often this means that the story is not immediately apparent when I start a project. The creative process itself gradually brings clarity to these narratives. An ongoing project of mine has been a graphic novel about my friend's ancestral home. The past year has been dedicated to this endeavor, with a significant portion spent gathering material. This accumulation of raw mass was crucial to the project. Easy stories follow a straightforward, singular narrative, trimming away complexities. But true discovery involves piecing together fragments that don't necessarily align neatly. My artistic role is to present the nuances, what slips through the cracks between one word and the next.”
“I have an affinity for projects that tell stories. Stories are where we dive into the complexities of a subject to emerge with a nuanced understanding.”
How would you describe your work?
“Making art for me is to let my fascinations evolve. In this process, I grapple with captivating ideas, and transform these abstract concepts into experiences that resonate on a visceral level. I believe there is a playfulness to a lot of my work, because I’m dealing with a fascination that defy simple explanations, and to explore like that is to play. Take, for example, my project *The Wanderer*(2021). Created during the COVID lockdown, it emerged from a sense of entrapment within my own body. I was captivated by the idea of the body-mind disconnect, such as experienced when we dream, where the body is static, but the mind is vividly active. Could this relationship be different? This question birthed the concept of a "Hotel of Dreams," a fictional place where people could dance in their dreams. The narrative unfolded in two parts: a booklet serving as a manual to this dream hotel, and an animation depicting a dream dance. The entire project was an exploration, starting from the simple fascination with the body as a physical place.”
Which artists influence you most?
“The artists who have influenced my work the most are those who tackle the task of presenting extreme complexities. They bring their audience to engage with a labyrinth of nuances, while protecting us from being lost among chaos. For instance, Sarah Sze creates installations that are intricate constellations of countless fragments. As you step into her creations, you're immersed in a world where the intent isn't immediately clear – is it referencing politics, nature, love, was there a message at all? Fluttering birds, rotating sun, construction tools integrated into the installation itself, the space she constructs offers an experience that is expansive rather than conclusive. You don’t walk away with a clear-cut message; rather, you're experiencing disparate fragments coalesce into a cohesive, albeit complex, whole. The artists I admire delve into complexities with remarkable intelligence, continually inspiring me to push my boundaries. Giorgia Lupi does this through gathering multifaceted, personal data, and presenting them in narrative that reveal intricacies and messiness. Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker expresses it in her dance, Masaaki Yuasa and Satoshi Kon in animation, Agnes Varda and Edward Yang in film, and the list goes on. Each of these artists, in their respective practice, weaves intricate, multifaceted stories that challenge and inspire me.”
What is your creative process like?
“My creative process invariably begins with research. When I sense the potential of a story, I resist immediately telling it. That resistance is not achieved by stubbornly turning my head away. I do it by taking a step back, examining the topic abstractly before embarking on my research. This phase involves delving into related discourses, examining artistic precedents, discussing with collaborators, and gathering visual references. Simultaneously, I compile raw materials for the story, which at first may seem unrelated. As I identify ideas that relate these disparate pieces into a narrative, the story begins to reveal itself. This methodology is integral to both my professional and personal projects. By applying a research-oriented approach, I bring conceptual insights into even the most straightforward, bounded design tasks. In my professional work, I rarely follow a strictly linear refinement process. Instead, it's about remaining on the lookout for the brand story that best fits a client's needs, ensuring the design aligns closely with their narrative.”
What is an artist’s role in society and how do you see that evolving?
“Often, we do not see an object for what it is, until it gets distorted, augmented, refracted, magnified, framed, or contrasted against other things. Art illuminates the context in which we are living. Without art, living is a solitary experience. As generative technologies rapidly evolve, creating an image has become more accessible than ever. The influx of information, however, does not necessarily enhance our ability to grapple with complexity. In fact, it often leads to the opposite – a default towards oversimplifying intricate ideas, as we try to navigate the deluge of information. In this landscape, artists can help us engage with the dense tapestry of experiences that define our world. Through doing so, they lead us to find clarity amidst the chaos. Art rescues our experiences from a platitude of narratives, and enriches our engagement with our world.”
Have you had any noteworthy exhibitions you'd like to share?
“One of my most memorable experiences was the screening of "The Wanderer" at the Supernova Digital Animation Festival in 2021. This project was created during the pandemic, and delved into themes of the mind's expansion and freedom from physical constraints. The timing of the festival, coinciding with the world beginning to open up again, was special. Sharing this story with an audience, and witnessing them engage with it, brought the story full circle. It was a moment of reconnection and reflection for me, emerging from isolation.”
Website: yichanwang.me
