Yifan Jiang
Bio: Yifan was born in Tianjin, China (1994), and grew up in Vancouver, Canada.
Thesis Exhibition
Yifan Jiang
One Sunday morning, 2021
2:24 excerpt of 13:12 animation, 2021, animated video. Oil on paper, Adobe after effects, Adobe premiere, Photoshop, touch designer.
The animated short chronicles the events followed by humanity’s sudden loss of language on one unsuspecting Sunday morning. Told from the perspective of two protagonists originating from opposite sides of the world, the Fable-esque tale is a thought experiment exploring the limits of language and human empathy.
Yifan Jiang and James J.A. Mercer
Two Truth and a Lie, 2019
3:07 min excerpt of 20:13 min animation
Graphite on paper, Photoshop, Processing, After Effects, Touchdesigner, Max MSP, Sunvox, Adobe Premiere.
The story follows a baby fleeing a hurricane who gives away three aspects of itself to three people it meets on its journey. A fable structure is contrasted with playful and eccentric digital visuals. Two Truths and a Lie is a coming of age story pushed and pulled to the breaking point, exploring the emotional landscapes of childhood and the fundamental elements of a person. The soundtrack was custom made using Max/Msp and Sunvox. By foregrounding digital artifacts, the making of the work is brought to consciousness and subtexts emerge.
Artist Statement: There is something strange about walking around and being human. We use mouthy movements to talk to each other, to eat, to get to the moon, to sing, and to kill each other. Chairs are shaped like butts. There are billions and billions of butt-shaped objects across the globe.
I am a conceptually driven, project-based artist who works across painting, animation, sculpture, and performance. Drawing on strategies of pataphysics and magical realism, I construct images and narratives by weaving together personal, quotidian moments with idioms of philosophy, history, and science. Exploring the grey intersections of the scientific, the psychological, and the magical, I consider the multitude of sentiments (humility, control, wonder...) a human being has towards the world.
L to R: One Sunday Morning (13:07 minutes, Animated Video, 2021); James J.A. Mercer / Yifan Jiang: Two Truths and a Lie (20:30 minutes, Single-channel digital video, 2020); Two Truths and a Lie (detail), (20:30 minutes, Single-channel digital video, 2020)
