As part of the Creative Thinking Project’s ‘Creativity Across Cultures’ series, we showcase three artists from the ‘2019 Chinese Young Artist Residence Programme.’ The central element of the exhibition revolves around luscious intoxications of ‘introductory experiences’: to be at once captivated and captive in one’s involvement with something. The completed works were shown at Hu’s Farm as part of the ‘Amuse Bouche’ exhibition.
Rubeta Yuan
Rubeta Yuan was born in 1990 in Hangzhou, China and currently lives and works in Shanghai.
In 2013 she graduated with a Masters in Fine Art from the School of Inter-Media Art at the China Academy of Art in Hangzhou. Her artistic practice focuses on exploring the act of painting, spatial rhythm and narratives in video, combining the emotive experience with dreams, history, and mythology.
Yuan’s film Fleeting Strangers was selected for the Los Angeles Chinese Film Festival in 2017 and her debut full-length movie The Symposium premiered at the Ullens Centre for Contemporary Art (UCCA) in Beijing in 2016. She was nominated for the Huayu Youth Award of Art Sanya in 2014 and in 2016 participated in the film section at Art Basel Hong Kong.
Rubeta’s works have a strong taste of postmodern mysticism, and the seemingly melancholic, violent and dark themes are often immersed with warmth and poetry. By creating a surreal world, she reflects on the loss of belonging and spiritual thinking with sophisticated logic.
What does creativity mean to you?
Creativity is a continuous interpretation of life, an outlet for emotion and a most important part of self-worth. When I meet interesting people, or when I experience pain, I get creative.
Tell us about your creative process.
I wear a number of hats, including director, screenwriter and artist. A new film usually involves summarising stories and images in my mind. I then make a creative plan, recruit actors, organise a site and work with the limited resources I have.
I take a long time drafting the script, setting up scenes and preparing semi-improvised performances and conversations. I edit and add music later.
How important is creativity in Chinese culture?
Most people do not understand how difficult a creative career can be and working in China is no exception. The good news is that the cultural atmosphere in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen is very active. Many young artists are emerging. And while it’s difficult in the short term, with little financial return, the future has unlimited possibilities.
Personally, I’m very lucky to have mentors, friends, family and institutions supporting me in China and I’m busy planning more exhibition opportunities and creative projects.
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