Yang Yongliang: Allegory of the cave

In the lead up to his June exhibition, Yang Yongliang chats about New York and its influence on his work.

YOU MOVED TO NEW YORK FROM SHANGHAI IN 2018. WHAT HAPPENED NEXT?

Yang Yongliang (YYL)/ I moved to New York from Shanghai in the summer of 2018. I was thrilled to find a cozy studio office in Garment District in midtown Manhattan. It was a dream come true. Throughout the turbulent year of 2020, I stayed in the city and experienced the ups and the downs with it. In the hardest time, I’ve seen New York’s vulnerability as well as its strength. New York used to be a dreamland to me. But after 2020, it started to feel like home. I grew a sense of conviction with New York along with its hardship. Strangely, it gives me a sense of belonging.

From February 2020 until now, small businesses moved out from Manhattan one after another. By the time my lease ended in November, most of my neighbours on my floor were gone. To me, it also doesn’t make sense to keep an office aside from home. I extended my office lease until my home lease ended, before leaving Manhattan by the end of January 2021. Now I’m happily relocated in a loft space in Long Island City, Queens. Moving to Queens is liberating, I have to admit!

DO YOU WORK PRIMARILY USING A COMPUTER? WHAT KIND OF STUDIO DO YOU HAVE? WHAT WOULD YOUR DREAM STUDIO BE?

YYL/ Yes, on daily basis I work primarily using a computer. At the moment, I have a home office with many screens in it, in which I refer to as my cave. I like my cave for what it is right now. However, due to the travel restriction that have pretty much grounded me for a year, my dream studio would be the same cave with mobility. It would be wonderful if the cave can travel freely.

HOW DO CONCEPTS FORM FOR YOU?

YYL/ I believe good concepts form naturally. Concepts form naturally for me, at least. The one thing I know to do is to be patient with myself. I also believe that concepts are very personal. It has to do with the places one has lived in, the cultures one has experienced, the languages one has spoken and the people one has cared for. I try not to change the concepts before new concepts were naturally formed.

Recently I’ve been thinking about a new series of works that are more deeply tied to nature. Even though I still live in the city, I don’t necessarily interact with it. Instead, I go to upstate New York every other week for open air. Nature has given me new impact in the year of 2020.

WHAT ARE YOU READING RIGHT NOW?

YYL/ A Brief History of Time (Stephen Hawking), Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow (Yuval Noah Harari), and Killing Commendatore (Haruki Murakami).

Exhibition: June 10 - July 3

“I also believe that concepts are very personal. It has to do with the places one has lived in, the cultures one has experienced, the languages one has spoken and the people one has cared for.”

Yang Yongliang in New York City.