I bet each of you are already familiar with John Yuyi's images, perhaps without even knowing it. If, among the infinite number of images suggested
Through a very distinctive aesthetic, her works address issues like the economy of digital identity and the circulation and consumption of images on social networks, as well as touch on how these concerns have profound repercussions on our awareness of being human in this historical moment. As such, it is the main reason why they are placed on a virtual and intangible medium: the internet. Despite these premises, the outputs of her research have an intrinsic link with physicality and retain an exquisitely performative character, where the body is at the center of the reflection put into play.
It is therefore not surprising that her latest, and first installation-focused solo exhibition, is dedicated to a series of installations that go beyond the classic concept of 2D photography. Hosted by TAO ART in Taipei, Taiwan, and curated by Robin Peckham, who is also the Co-Director of Taipei Dangdai, Eye Sees No Lashes– open until February 20, 2021 – carries out a series of fantasy conversions that connect physical nature of bodies and non-material visual sensations through the act of seeing and being seen.
“John Yuyi taps into the nature of how we see ourselves in today's hypermediated world on a primal level. Through the profusion of her own likeness across the internet, in the media, and alongside a slippery selection of objects and textures, she dredges up the existential insecurities, vanities, anxieties, and horrors that give shape to the contemporary self,” explains Peckham. The curator has been specially invited to help the exhibition become more comprehensive, by allowing the audiences to walk into a fantasy space woven by real and virtual elements carefully created by John Yuyi.
Due to the uncertainties of the pandemic, Yuyi has returned to Taiwan, where she was born and raised. Here she unexpectedly found time to focus on new types of creation, while also finding innovative ways of breaking through from her regular creative formats of photography and social media to transitioning into using space as her canvas. And if her works could already be found in all types of media – from magazines to image advertising, and from exhibitions to social media – with this display Yuyi pushed her research towards a further field of exploration. The physical space and the installations become the device through which to probe issues related to the fluid nature of identity, both of her and of our generation.
Never as today, the subtle balance that is created between seeing and being seen is a daily matter. Indeed, in the exhibition the element of “eyes” connects each work and the feelings it creates: from Eye Sees No Lashes (an installation within the exhibition and from which the whole exhibition takes its name) which features a 2.4-meter-tall doll with long blue synthetic hair and the artist’s own eyes on the floor, to Making Eye Contact with Leaves, where eyes on the leaves of the branches sprawl throughout the space. Also, the famous I Love I collection is showcased in the form of water-filled three-dimensional installations, transcending the planar nature of stickers and photography to invite the audience to take part in the dissemination of images.
In this exhibition, John Yuyi’s artworks are once again dynamic and twisted, but also very immediate. They strike directly at the stomach, squeezing the uncanny feelings that lurk inside the pores of our skin.
Read our Q&A with John Yuyi to learn more.
This is your first installation-focused exhibition. Can you tell me what the difference is from your previous exhibitions?
After the pandemic outbreak, I left New York and began staying in Taiwan temporarily. I've always been wanting to try to present my work in a different way. Previously most of my works were presented just as photographs.
In New York, the high cost of everything and the high rental costs for space limited me to do exhibitions with installations. So when I returned to Taiwan, I thought that this was the best timing and environment to try out new things.
I had 3 solo exhibitions in 2018; there was only one installation work “I Tree to Call You 2018” which took place in an exhibition in Shanghai, but basically they were all photography exhibitions.
This time the exhibition [Eye Sees No Lashes] displayed all of the new work I did between 2019-2020. There are no photography prints displayed in this show. It’s also a new experience for people who have been following me for a while too. I guess they would expect some old works or photography, but I’m happy to show them some new works in a whole new form!
How did you conceive the installations? Was it hard to think about the 3D aspect of images and how to translate them into the physical world? What has been your creative process on this occasion?
I think a lot of the installations I did for this show were derived from my 2D works. Also, before that I had already created some very small pieces, but they were still presented in a traditional photographic format.
So I made some artworks into a bigger size, and made them movable in real life.
From previous practices I guess I had little experience, as it’s still not easy for me to translate 3D aspects of an image into real life.
At the brainstorming stage of the show, I was also thinking about what kind of material I'm already good at handling. I majored in fashion design, so I already knew fabric, for example. In the main installation Eye Sees No Lashes, I made a 1:10 mock-up of a dress and did the draping and the pattern making. Because the original size was a 4m-width dress, it burnt my brain to finish the pattern and to make sure the eyes were attached correctly onto the two pieces of fabric. I felt satisfied after I accomplished this challenge as it was hard for me.
In this exhibition, you take a part of the body as the protagonist of the whole concept: the eyes. Why?
I think I used to create more pieces surrounding social media and human relationships… some more obvious things. Now I am just in a phase where I want to do something more emotional and ambiguous.
I like the faces and eyes, I think I just unconsciously feel connected to them, perhaps it is because it is something I have and also something that every human-being has. In the past, there were so many types of literature describing eyes, and now you can find trends on the internet where people are making eye makeup art. I guess eyes attract you, because the receiver is also your own eye.
The title of the exhibition is also very beautiful. What is the meaning behind it?
My friend helped me come up with the title; he was looking at my sketches and the material I had.
He also found that eyes and lashes were the main elements in the show.
There is a Chinese saying where the title has another meaning which is: ”Your eyes can never see your own lashes. A metaphor of being blind to your own fault. you can see really far away but you can’t see something really close to you.”
By reading it or by knowing the meaning behind it, they both fit the show physically and mentally.
I think the saying is kind of ironic to me by having a high standard, finding the balance of having a high standard, and negotiating with people by trying not to make them think I am “eye sees no lashes”. Also a wish I made for myself: to never become a person who “eye sees no lashes”. Learn and be grateful all the time.
Can you tell me more about the impact that the exhibition is having on the audience? Was the role of the curator important to make the exhibition more “accessible” in a way? How did you both work together?
I don’t really know how the audience feels or how if it had any impact on them, but I’m glad I finally had an exhibition in Taiwan, my hometown.
I saw people who tagged me and that social media reported it. I just hope I gave a different point of view for the people who were able to see the show in real life and maybe inspire some.
Me and the curator Robin Peckham met as friends. It was an amazing experience to work with Robin, he showed me that a good curator could provide a lot for an exhibition. He’s the one who had the idea to make the space into an immersive one, so that people can walk on the dirt. He was very professional, very calm, very smart and reliable, and I am very happy that I had the chance to work with someone I respect.
What is the role of the body in your practice?
As I answered for the eye question, I think the body is something that people would feel very related to. Just like in a park, two Yorkshire dogs would immediately find out each other’s existence and start to have a reaction. And every body, every pore…. is so different, Genes are so magical.
It seems that you have a passion/obsession with skin, can you tell me more?
I remembered I used to hide behind my grandpa’s back, when I was kid. Watching his back’s mole and scars.
I also like to watch every boyfriend’s pore and moles on their faces. I have also done projects of faces on every boyfriend. I feel that the moment they have already left me, is when I can’t think about the placement of their moles. This is my obsession with skin.
Can you tell me more about your relationship with fashion today and how your love with skin and body is linked to it, either now or previously?
Yes! Because at the beginning of my career in photography, I wanted to have style images with beautiful outfits, but due to the lack of budget and clothes, I couldn’t find a style which was good enough for the image.
If it wouldn’t help the image and distract you from what you are trying to express, I think I’d rather have kept it blank, so I ended up keeping it nude and clothless.
My relationship with fashion is that I still have a lot of commercial jobs from fashion brands and I still love all the news and knowledge from fashion, but I just hope fashion can slow down.
I miss people not receiving too much information and the competition of who’s faster and who has more on social media is sometimes tiring.
Where do you get inspiration from?
I get inspiration from daily observation. From things I feel connected to. I believed a project could show if you were genuinely wanting to do it, or you just wanted to do something cool and eye-catching.
In your opinion, what is the difference to make artforsocial media and to make artaboutsocial media?
OH! I’ve been thinking of this a lot recently, following from the previous answer. I think it’s different for me to do art for social media and about social media.
Making art for social media easily gets kidnapped by social media. The audience wants more and more, and wants it faster and faster. You have less time to import the nutrients you need, but you keep exporting. At the end you’ll be dried out.
You can tell the difference when a person is just doing it for likes and more likes and when they are making it just for themselves. It’s not a healthy mentality. What I learned from last year, is that I acknowledged that sustainable development is very important.
Beyond social media, are there any other platforms/devices/environment that you would be curious to explore in the future?
I’m curious to see what comes after when everything seems so extreme right now. When you reach out to one extreme, it will hit back. That’s what I’m curious about.