Interview with Wang Yuyang: Here we are, Chinese Pavilion of La Biennale Venezia 2022

First published on Il giornale dell'arte

Wang Yuyang brings two works to the Chinese Pavilion for this year's Venice Biennale: Quarterly from the “Wang Yuyang#” series, which hangs from the center of the ceiling, and Snowman from the "Untitled" series, which is presented in the small garden outside the pavilion. The artist, born in Harbin, China's "ice city" in 1979, constantly explores the interaction between "human" and "object" in his creations.The artist's search begins with his skepticism of preconceived concepts of reality, of the obvious truth, of common sense, and of established standards. The first time of his work shown in Italy was in 2008, at the exhibition " China China China !!!" at Palazzo Strozzi in Florence. Then, he returned to Florence in 2019 for his solo exhibition Lucciole per Lanterne which held in Museo del Novecento. This trip to Venice is his first presentation for the Venice Biennale.

Quarterly, 2021 @ Chinese Pavilion of Venice Biennale 
Resin, Flavone, Copper, Bronze, Stainless Steel, Tree 
800cm x 260cm x 400 cm 

YANG Fan: Can you tell us about the origin of the "Untitled" series and the “Wang Yuyang#” Series ?

WANG Yuyang: The initial idea was the series called “Wang Yuyang#"(WYY#). The concept was to "replace the artist's creation with computer program" — using programming to instruct the computer to generate artworks by itself. However, in the beginning, programmers I work with were not capable to write such program codes when the idea was first proposed, since computer technology in China was not as advanced as it is today, and the key technologies mastered at that time were not targeted to image and modeling.

I spent about a year communicating with the programmer after the idea was raised. Eventually an approach was found, which also lead to the birth of the Untitled Series: Computers cannot understand human language, they can only process with binary code -- the arrangement and combination of 0 and 1. So, I found a logic between human language and computers codes, which allows computer to follow the codes to control software such as 3D Max and painting software Painter. From there, one can simply enter a command in text form, and the command will control the software and to generate a work of art. The materials and the sizes of the work are all determined by the computer. I would follow the instructions resulted by the computer to find all the materials required to make a physical object. The naming of the work was also determined by the computer: when the computer saves a file after everything is done, a name is also automatically created. The name of the file subsequently became the name of my work.

Snowman, 2021. @ Chinese Pavilion of Venice Biennale 
Cement, Brass, Copper, Stainless Steel, Iron.  
265cm x 190cm x 285 cm 

The name of the piece in the garden, Snowman, was one case decided by the computer. The input text of Snowman was a quote from an incantation from the animation Nezha conquers the Dragon King. The quotation represents the metaphor of phoenix nirvana. This series was born in 2012, to discuss the subject in regard to the approaches of “cognition”. Whenever people see a work, they see an object with a form, they would try to interpret the work with existing experience and personal cognition. The audience may have endless imagination to the works generated by computer according to the algorithm logic. But it is not the true fact of the work, since the work was originated from a text. On the contrary, if an artist were to use such a text and create directly, he or she would create a variety of strange contents, because after all, each person's interpretation of a text can be very different. Here lies the contradiction of intentions between a viewer and a work (of the artist). People encounter cognitive gaps when they perceive the world, the earth and the universe, they tend to build up a logic based on their own existing cognition, so as to try to understand and verify the existence of the reality. People are constantly trying to "explain themselves".

the work Quarterly in transportation to Arsenale, Venice@Photo by Wang Yuyang 

Fan: Then, how have you finally achieved the WYY# series?

Yuyang: Eventually the WYY# series was realized in 2015. I wrote a program that could create a work, and this program itself becomes ‘the artist’.When the program began to operate, it was no longer under anyone’s control or predictable, and its choices was randomized. With such a program, the computer can access the Internet on its own, open a website, capture words or images, convert them into codes, and create the work all by itself independently, determining the size, material, and color for each part of the work. The title of the work is also a word selected by the computer from the database. Every choice the machine made was random. I wonder what the behavior track and logic of the machine is like, how human and man-made objects are related. After the creation of man-made objects, they are in turn counteracting to control human beings, changing their cognition of time and space. In this process, I am both the producer and reader of the work generated according to the instructions of the computer, me and the audience are in the same position. The artist renounces his most valuable right - create, and turns into a producer. When I first implemented the work Quarterly, I was also wondering why it was so strange and why the tree was located in such a weird position, but it was all determined by the computer. The computer's control is completely randomized and unrepeatable, which makes the work fresh and unique at every moment, presenting an unknowable and uncontrollable nature.

Breathe - TV Set, 2013. 

Silica gel, Motor, Metal frame 

Dimensions: H 30 x L 45 x W 30cm 

Fan: Before these two series were created, you had made other series of works that were very different from the current works in terms of form. How did you come up with the idea of using “computer-generation” in your work?

Yuyang: I have always been trying to make a lot of new attempts. For example, my "Breathing" series (2006) is aimed to make the audience to realize that "objects" are also alive. Later, I created a series of works concerning the rights of "objects". Paper, tape, and film are materials that were created with the mission of recording human language, text, and life. My work Tape(2010): I went to the factory and ordered a custom cassette tape, and I started recording at the beginning of the production, I kept recording until the tape was produced, then I recorded the recording content back to the tape that had just been produced, so that the tape could tell the story of its own "birth". In another work The Narrative of a Stack of Paper (2012) , I made a documentary on “paper making”, from the cutting of the bark to the final production of paper, which took seven days. Afterwards, I converted the documentary into photographic images then printed them on the paper, so that the paper would tell its own history. Objects can also have the right of self-narration, then I thought, well, let's just let "objects" create by themselves, hence the idea of WYY#.

Fan: So what would you like to explore next?

Yuyang: I started a new series last year to explore the cooperation between human and machine. Usually, you think you can control the machine, but in fact it is controlling you in a way. Recently I don't want to dwell on the subject between to control or to be controlled, coexistence and the mutual integration of human and machine have become my new interest.

Artificial Moon, 2007 @ Palazzo Strozzi, Firenze 
Energy saving lamps, Metal frame 
Dimensions: D 400cm 

Fan: The work you exhibited at Palazzo Strozzi in Florence in 2007, "Artificial Moon", is a different series?

Yuyang: I used 10,000 energy-saving light bulbs for that piece. People create light bulbs to resist the fear of darkness, but, people do have a sense of shame, and when they use the light bulbs excessively, they start to talk about energy saving and emission reduction, that is how energy-saving bulbs were created. When the audience saw the 4-meter diameter work, they amaze at its beauty with the first glance, followed by the question like " How much electricity must have been wasted?". In fact, this is exactly the reaction of human beings -- people are keen to create spectacles, but subsequently develop a sense of guilt and raise all kinds of questions.

Fan: You studied Stage Design at the university, does Stage Design continue to play a role in your work now?

Yuyang: At the beginning, I studied painting when i was a teenager and wished to be an oil painter. Drawing is an unavoidable topic, it is in the nature of human beings, and it is impossible to remove the complex of drawing, which is engraved in the genes of human. Later, I learned stage design and discovered various forms of artistic expression. Many artists are constantly in the quest of searching for their own style, their own language, their own symbols. I think these are mere creeds constructed by art history, critics, or galleries: An artist must have his or her own style, so as to be recognized by the world. I have always been trying to break away from being labeled, what matters to me is the work rather than "me".

Fan: Do you have unrealized projects? Projects that have been too complicated to be realized, censored projects, unfinished projects

Yuyang: I have a project related to a scientific expedition involving collecting samples from glaciers in China. But for many scenarios, communication barriers came about, where scientists couldn’t understand what I'm doing, and they may consider what the artist is doing is meaningless. This project has been going on for two years, but now it is suspended. However, I will continue to look for opportunities that could help me with this project, such as Foundations and overseas technology companies.

Fan: Who are the people who have really influenced you?

Yuyang: My graduate supervisor, Lu Shengzhong, dedicates to combining traditional art with contemporary art practices. His sincere and rigorous attitude towards art has been a great inspiration to me. He made me aware

that the important thing is to have faith and true enthusiasm for the artwork I created.

Fan: Do you believe in art? Do you believe in artist?

Yuyang: Of course, I couldn't live without art, it's my faith, that’s exactly why I could stay happy for the day, and doing art is really a particularly wonderful thing. The best point is that I am doing what I love the most.