Yushan Tang
By Poor Tom
Hi Yushan, thank you for joining me for this interview. I saw your work on the online Graduate showcase and found it really interesting, the idea of using the moon and sea as a symbol for homesickness comes across really well, what inspired this project?
I grew up near the ocean. The sea is a safe place like home to me. I sit on the beach and watch the waves crashing on the shore, in those moments I feel the traces of wave are the evidence of time passing. And the concept of moon it’s because traditional Chinese poems always used sea and moon to express their emotion of homesickness, so I use moon as a conception for my project title.
Image by Yushan Tang
The images of the coast eroding over time are really engaging, especially with the added sound effects of the ocean, can you talk me through your process in generating work?
I hope the audience can see the time passing through my work, and the coastline erosion is the evidence of time passing, instead of recording this process, I chose to present this process. I just want my pictures to disappear while the audience is watching them. After I tried some other ways to destroy my pictures, I chose thermal paper. And about the sound, that’s because we can’t do the physical exhibition, so I have to record the video of my installation, and I found that the sound of wave quite like the sound of clock, to make audience feel more real, I added this sound into my video.
What challenges did you face while putting this series together? Specifically how did Covid restrict you? Did it restrict you?
The biggest challenge of my work I think is to make this installation. At first, I just know I want to make an installation that can destroy my pictures, but I don’t know how… And it is quite complicated, because it had some problem about physical computing which I know nothing about it at all. It did make me felt anxious for a while, but after I discussed with some staff from 3D workshop and Creative Technology Lab, they helped solve the problem.
About Covid, I think it’s we can’t do the physical exhibition because of the Covid, so I have to made a video to display my installation.
Image by Yushan Tang
QUICK FIRE
Night out or night in?
Sometimes night out sometimes night in.
What’s your favourite place to visit in you home town?
The seaside.
What’s your favourite gallery in London?
Tate Modern.
Roughly how many times have you worn this year?
Haven’t yet.
If you could change one thing in the art world, what would it be?
I didn’t think about it before but I will after today.
Can you summarise your time at LCC in 10 words or less?
I created a new me at LCC.
For anyone thinking of doing MA Photography at LCC, what advice would you give them?
Try more media and more ways to present your photography, photography can do more.
And finally what’s next? Any new projects? Events? Exhibitions? In the works? (that you’re allowed to talk about)
I have interest about the relationship between human beings and ocean, so I guess I will keep working on seascape.
Image by Yushan Tang