Jingshuo Yang
Artist Statement
"My artworks function as my diary, recording my growth and perception of life. Many times, our habits and ways of thinking become subtle customs that control our behavior without being noticed. We become numb, insensitive, habitually living, working, and playing, such that even our joys and sorrows are secretly controlled. Sometimes I know I feel bad, but I do not know why, and I do not want to dig deeper emotionally to understand because that itself it emotionally tiring in addition to the external world. What makes up a moral code and why? Why are certain customs the way that they are? Are they right? If not, how can we change it?
I am constantly trying to abandon my own inherited concepts and observe the society and empathy in people's life without myself, seeking to face real life instead of what the media and books want me to see. These observations and empathetic processes changed how I thought of other people. People are shaped by their experiences as I am shaped by mine, so I began to withhold my judgments and suspend empathy in their situations to better understand them. My art reflects these observations and empathy for real life interactions with others. My paintings Butterfly Woman, and Strugle reflect my understanding of German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer's theory of empathy."