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Project #17: Yawei Chen
DavisKlemmGallery Projektraum, Kirchstraße 4, 65239 Hochheim am MainProject #17: Yawei Chen
THE ARTIST
Yawei Chen comes from Hebei, China, where she received a degree in painting. She has lived in Germany since 2017 and has been a master student of Prof. Judith Samen at the Kunsthochschule Mainz since this year. Her works are based on contemporary themes and media. Videos, photos and installations are among her preferred techniques. She enjoys experimenting with new formats for her works, such as VR glasses. Yawei Chen lives and works in Mainz. She has been exhibiting her work in various contexts since 2019. The Museum Wiesbaden will be showing works by Yawei Chen as part of an exhibition starting December 20, 2024.
MATERIALS
Old-fashioned television sets - bulky and unfamiliar in this day and age of flat screens - and digital videos on USB sticks. Videos that the artist has found and edited on the digital channels of Instagram, TikTok and YouTube flicker on the screens. Unlike “classical art”, digital art often works with existing material and rearranges it: the choice of screens, the selection of videos and the arrangement of the individual elements form the artwork.
INFLUENCE
The history of electronic art began in the 1950s, when artists used new technologies such as computers and synthesizers to create innovative works. In the 1960s, it was the South Korean artist Nam June Paik in particular whose name is associated with video art. With the development of digital media in the 1980s and 1990s, electronic art experienced a boom that further blurred the boundaries between art, music and technology. Today, digital media are part of everyday life - and therefore also of art. However, the ubiquity of smartphones is also bringing about changes. Excessive use of digital media is cited in various studies as a cause of mental health problems. But there are also videos that have a relaxing effect. Yawei Chen uses the term “emotional healing” - can this be achieved through a calming animal video?
INSTALLATION
While usually videos on Social Media are individually viewed on one’s own smartphone, different animal videos are flickering on the screens in the project room at the same time. The simultaneity and repetition contribute to the overall impression. As with a painting, the eye wanders from image content to image content. “Expand your reach on social media with cat content” - in view of the large number of animal videos on the internet, this recommendation seems to be successful. Cat and animal videos exert a special fascination. They evoke emotional reactions in young and old alike. Just as walking a dog or stroking a cat has been proven to relieve stress, so too does watching cute animals. Yawei Chen addresses precisely this phenomenon: cute animal videos that offer a calming counterbalance to an overabundance of often negative news. These “electronic pets” are easy to care for and always available when needed.
THE SPACE
The 20 m² room, in which pens and exercise books were previously sold, is now available to artists from the DavisKlemmGallery as a project space. Instead of regular but limited opening times, the room can be viewed around the clock: the entire room and thus the project can be viewed at all times thanks to the large window front. Changing projects, installations, works of art and artists can be discovered here. The current presentation will be on view until January 19th, 2025.
