10 Questions with Yu Pan
Yu Pan (b.1994) is a visual communicator and multidisciplinary artist who works with a range of design instruments and media. He holds a Master's Degree in Visual Communication from the Royal College of Art. He delves into the study of Buddhism, exploring its integration with the social sciences and philosophy through a contemporary approach.
Yu Pan - Portrait
Buddhist culture is where it all began for Yu Pan, who grew up in a Buddhist household. The jade pendant of the Guanyin that he grew up wearing, the ritual of burning incense and praying, etc., are all deeply rooted in his mind. He observed the world through the lens of Buddhism.
He believes that there is a Buddhist perspective on everything, and Buddhist culture serves as the 'skin' for everything in the world. Since the society that exists beneath the "skin" is diverse, he frequently incorporates additional philosophical and social scientific ideas into his project. In his work, you can see that he is also heavily inspired by his personal experiences.
In his work, he employs methods including, but not limited to, graphic design, sound design, moving images, and performance art to influence the viewer and immerse them in scenarios they may have never been exposed to before. His recent artworks can be described by the word "New Age Visual Art". When viewing his art, audiences can often feel inspired, relaxed, and optimistic.
The Original Vows of Binddha Sutra, Photography, 1080x1920 Pixels, 2021 © Yu Pan
INTERVIEW
First, tell us a little about your background and studies. What kind of education or training helped you develop your approach to art?
My artistic studies started at a very young age with acoustic guitar and realistic drawing. This was when the visual arts and music started to really take hold of my psyche. During my undergraduate and postgraduate studies, I focused on fashion design, intending to pursue a career in the fashion sector. I therefore relocated to Shanghai to work as an assistant designer for an independent womenswear designer label after completing my studies. Interestingly, I had to wear multiple hats while doing a great deal of visual and motion design work for the company. I began learning how to be a visual artist on my own after realizing that I was more interested in the creative side of things throughout these jobs. My use of color, representation of shapes, and three-dimensional thinking have all been carried over from my earlier studies into my current visual works. Then, I came to study Visual Communication (Experimental Communication Pathway) at the Royal College of Art because of my dedication. My knowledge of multidisciplinary design and art methodology has improved greatly during the past two years of focused study.
You are a versatile multidisciplinary artist, but what is your preferred medium of choice, the one you will always come back to?
Moving image and sound design together would have to be my choice for that media that I return to time and time again. If you've had a chance to go around my website, you've probably seen that I've been mostly using video in my work in recent years. Since my original research and use of this combination of design mediums during my self-exploration phase, I have shot videos with fixed cameras and recorded sounds on the street using microphones. Then, I studied these two media in further detail and even took a sound design course when I was at the RCA. I prefer to consider the two media to be a mixture, a set of artistic practices, because of how closely they are related. I present a video work in my most recent art piece, "Conditioning and Not Being Mended, Mong Varanasi," that serves as the best illustration of this.
Conditioning and Not Being Mended, Mong Varanasi, Digital Print, 1280x1024 Pixels, 2023 © Yu Pan
Conditioning and Not Being Mended, Mong Varanasi, Digital Print, 297x420 Pixels, 2023 © Yu Pan
You work with various mediums, from graphic and sound design to performance art and moving images. What do these different mediums have in common, in your opinion? And how do they influence each other in your practice?
By using graphic graphics, digital illustrations, 3D modeling, sound design, storytelling, performance art, and experimental communication, I specialize in producing sets of visual arts. As I indicated in my response to the previous question, fashion design is essentially about immersive set experiences, from garment manufacture to the final show presentation; thus I need to provide the audience with an immersive experience. This is likely connected to my fashion background. This way of thinking infuses my later visual arts creative notions. The combination of these approaches can have the effect I want, if only because they have something in common.
In my work, they are, first and foremost, complementary and indispensable. Second, I will attempt to create art using a variety of media for various projects, selecting alternative forms of expression based on the final piece, all to achieve the "whole set of visual enjoyment" that I hope to convey from many angles. For instance, I began with the graphic portion of my project "The Original Vows of Binddha Sutra" and then incorporated performance art, a video of a monk chanting inside a rubbish station, and even 3D printed miniatures of trash bins Buddha for people to worship. In my work, the various media serve as a lighthouse, offering me distinct guidance while remaining inside the same ocean.
What is your aim as an artist? What would you like the public to get away from your work?
I want to use my personal experience to share certain Buddhist principles with others who are unaware of Buddhist culture. It's important to note that I don't want to preach to people about Buddhism; rather, I want to use it as a canvas on which to make art. Using "Conditioning and Not Being Mended, Mong Varanasi" as an example, I concealed some Buddhist philosophy behind the vision and used a feeling to accentuate the points I wanted to get through in the design instead of going for overt Buddhist features. This is something I am proud of.
First of all, from an experience perspective, the combination of sight and music induces a feeling of peace and healing in the spectator. Second, individuals can start re-examining their inner lives. I like to provide the audience with additional relaxation options while including elements of Buddhist culture.
Conditioning and Not Being Mended, Mong Varanasi, Genyous Paper, 115x80 mm, 2023 © Yu Pan
Let's talk about your creative process. Can you guide us through the process, from the first idea to the outcome?
Even though the entire project of "Conditioning and Not Being Mended, Mong Varanasi" has a psychedelic, therapeutic, and peaceful Buddhism feel to it, its initial inspiration came from my developing anxieties. I'm not sure when I started to get more and more competitive, but I would frequently experience violent heartbeats for a set amount of time, and the smallest thing would make me quite nervous. I began to question if my competition and anxiety were truly an outward reaction to the expectations of society and life or if they were a fabricated reaction that I was creating out of fear of not living up to the expectations of others.
After a lot of reading and research, I started with the "socialization" angle. For individuals, socialization is the process of learning to play different roles in society at the same time. In my opinion, such a "process" implanted in us is painful, and we are forced to behave in a way that is not natural to us to integrate ourselves perfectly into society. Such behavior brings anxiety. As society develops, our human nature implants social properties through modern tools and collective consciousness. Therefore, I have used the twelve modernization tools/products/behaviors to represent the twelve pains of socialization through their modernization properties. Why twelve? This brings me to the twelve vows of the Medicine Buddha, which I was deeply influenced by. Medicine Buddha is the Buddha who symbolizes the healing of illness and injury. Therefore, I think that some of the philosophies of Medicine Buddha can be used in our daily lives to stop us from being nervous and stressed out.
I then began visualizing Medicine Buddha's twelve vows. These vows, which wish to relieve all beings of the physical pain and mental suffering caused internally and externally, can be used as a remedy for the times of anxiety and difficulties we encounter in our daily lives.
The Original Vows of Binddha Sutra, Digital Prints, 297x420 mm, 2021 © Yu Pan
Speaking of your work, you strongly focus on Buddhism, analyzing the world through this lens. Can you tell us more about it? How did Buddhism become so central in your practice? And how does it influence your work?
Perhaps contrary to the popular image of China, many families will have a religion they are relatively familiar with, which for me is Buddhism. To be honest, our family is not a very traditional Buddhist family, but we have a lot of ritual traditions with Buddhist culture. For example, since I was a little girl, I would wear a jade pendant with the image of Guanyin, the Goddess of Mercy, who my mum said would keep me safe. During festivals and on the first and fifteenth days of the month, our family would offer incense to the god and pray for good health and smooth sailing. In many Chinese myths, novels, and online games, Buddhism symbolizes healing, love, tolerance, and tranquillity. These things planted the seeds of my code of conduct in my mind.
Subconsciously, I can't help but think of Buddhism when I want to create an immersive experience. In my latest work, "Conditioning and Not Being Mended, Mong Varanasi," I was reminded that when I was a kid, my grandma would bring home discs of Buddhist songs from time to time, and one of them was called "Medicine Buddha Mantra". That's what led to the subsequent vision of the project.
Another key element in your work is personal experiences. How do you mix them with Buddhist teachings, and how do you incorporate them both into your work?
As previously stated, I do not see myself as a pure Buddhist; rather, I see myself as a thinker who incorporates some Buddhist ideas. Frequently, when faced with a particular experience, my first thought is usually Buddhist philosophy, and I wonder if there is a way of thinking or a solution that could be helpful. As a result, I believe that we can apply parts of the Buddhist principles to our everyday lives to either feel more at liberty to live or discover the reality of life.
For example, in my project "The Original Vows of Binddha Sutra", I was inspired by the policy of waste segregation in the city where I live. I observed that many people are still oblivious to the ordinance of waste separation and continue to throw away their rubbish as they please, let alone separate it. It reminds me that people often blindly trust the so-called "KOLs" and believe in certain ideas spread by unknown people on the internet, but they will not obey some policies that are helpful to the environment.
I started to look for some clues from Buddhist philosophy. I researched that Buddhism is an environmental religion, which advocates the protection of flora and fauna and the coexistence of human beings with natural landscapes. So, I designed a Buddha in the image of a rubbish bin, for which I created a sutra that focuses on the protection of the earth and the benefits of segregating rubbish, including rules such as for every time rubbish is carefully discarded, a person will gain good karma. I explored the possibility that if a "higher power" told people to take care of the environment, they would obey it with all their heart and soul. I also use performance art as a way to be the first to act as a role model.
This is basically how I combine my own experience and Buddhist philosophy when creating visual artworks.
The Original Vows of Binddha Sutra, Rice Paper, 200x400 mm, 2021 © Yu Pan
The Original Vows of Binddha Sutra, Rice Paper, 3D Print, 200x400 mm, 100x100x200 mm, 2021 © Yu Pan
Is there any other medium or technique you would like to experiment with?
Speaking of which, I would very much like to experiment with the use of real instruments and synthesizers in my compositions; although I have had experience playing live with simple music loops and moving images that I have designed, it's very new to me. The music I use in my current work is mostly made of experimental "instruments" such as recordings, contact mics, etc., which I then edit/recreate according to the feeling I want.
There's a reason why the visual elements accompanying the music are becoming more and more important in my work. As I mentioned in my previous question, I grew up listening to Buddhist music. There are many manifestations of Buddhist music; for example, there is very traditional chanting; some are more like pop music, and so on. But the ones I listened to were very traditional and ambient. They have a very strong memory. Secondly, New-Age music plays an important role in my work. It brings artistic inspiration, relaxation, and optimism and is often associated with nature, religion, and mythology. Although the concept of New-Age music is a bit going south, I am still interested in its ability to help people relax in sensory experiences.
The Original Vows of Binddha Sutra, Digital Prints, 297x420 mm, 2021 © Yu Pan
Let's talk about the future. What are you working on now, and what are your plans for the future? Is there anything exciting you can tell us about?
I have several projects in hand right now that are in progress and also have a certain Buddhist philosophy, so when they are released, you are welcome to go to my website and have a taste of them. I'm also doing some educational work, which I really enjoy, helping high school/undergraduate students to discover their own artistic language.
Future plans are, of course, to continue my current line of research as a multimedia artist and to develop more interesting mediums at the same time. The focus will be more on immersive visual experiences as well.
Finally, any shows, galleries, or publications where our readers can find your work?
The only thing I can tell you is that I do have some exciting news, but I can't give it out at the moment. If you like my work or would like to collaborate with me, please feel free to visit my website or Instagram and send me an email directly (you can find it on my website and Instagram).
Artist’s Talk
Al-Tiba9 Interviews is a promotional platform for artists to articulate their vision and engage them with our diverse readership through a published art dialogue. The artists are interviewed by Mohamed Benhadj, the founder & curator of Al-Tiba9, to highlight their artistic careers and introduce them to the international contemporary art scene across our vast network of museums, galleries, art professionals, art dealers, collectors, and art lovers across the globe.
