Jialin Yan
[Fuzhou, China]

Art Yourself Atelier is thrilled to announce Jialin Yan’s first solo exhibition on our platform -- «Tie with Unspeakable Bound · 无言之绊».

Artist's Biography

Jialin Yan was born in 1992 and currently lives and works in Fuzhou,China.

Much of her confusion comes from lost memories and emotions, so she tries to explore the process of their loss and abandonment through photography.

Photographer / Curator / Magazine Arcticle Contributor/Co-founder of Chinese female photography promotion platform 「Miroir Project」

About the Solo Exhibition

Unknown Bound · 未名之束 [2021]

When I am chronically eroded by a sense of nothingness, I feel as if I am permanently bound by a string. And when this state of nothingness was unlocked one day, I could not help but want to look back at nothingness, just like a person fleeing from the abyss, can not help looking into the abyss at the mouth of the cave, but after escaping from the jaws of the tiger, but aftertaste, even infatuated with the danger.

当我长期被虚无感侵蚀时，状态就好像长期被一捆绳索束缚。而当这种虚无的状态在某日被解开之后，我又忍不住想要回望虚无，就像一个人逃离深渊之后，会忍不住在洞口朝深渊望去，在虎口脱险之后却又回味、甚至迷恋曾经的危险。

Undercurrent · 暗涌 [2021-Ongoing]

My uncle, grandfather and grandmother used to live together. Through my contact with them, I observed the collective vulnerability that emanated from them. All three died within a few years of each other. For various reasons, I did not see the three of them last. Intense regret and self-reproach have kept me from letting go of the pain caused by the death of my loved one for years. It's a natural reaction to run away from pain, but maybe confronting it can help you move on. It wasn't until I started talking to my friends about three deaths that I realized that most of them, like me, were trying to escape their loss. Maurice Maeterlinck mentioned a point of view about death in the Blue Bird: although some people have passed away, as long as someone still remembers him, he will still be as happy as before. So I began to think, treat relatives, should be remembered and remember, rather than forget. So I don't want to run away. After that, I began to visit the places where they were last seen, and talked more about them with my family members, looking for traces of their existence and capturing things that I had neglected. In the end, the traces and feelings of being retrieved became the fetters of all three of them. These fetters will eventually become dark surges of their presence in my world, flowing on and on.

我的舅舅、外公、外婆三人曾住在一起。通过与他们的接触，我观察到他们身上共同散发出的脆弱状态。几年间他们三人相继离世。因为各种原因，我没有见到他们三人最后一面。强烈的遗憾与自责，经年累月让我无法释怀亲人离世带来的痛苦。 人对痛苦的逃避是本能反应，但或许直面伤痛，才能帮助自己释怀。直到我开始和朋友们谈起三人离世的事情，才发现大多数人也和我一样用逃避去淡忘亲人离世的伤痛。 莫里斯梅特林克在《青鸟》中提到一个关于死亡的观点：有的人虽然已经故去，但只要有人还在怀念他，他就还会像从前一样幸福地活着。至此我开始思考，对待亲人，应是怀念与铭记，而不是忘却。于是我不想再逃避。之后，我便开始频繁地走访他们生前最后出现的地方，和家人更多地去谈论他们三人，找寻他们存在过的痕迹，捕捉曾被我忽略的事情。最终，那些被找回的痕迹和感受，成为了他们三人对我的羁绊。这些羁绊最终将会变成他们存在于我的世界里的暗涌，持续地流动下去。

Her Exhibition Experience

Mar 2022 - Apr 2022 · Xiamen, China
2022 Unbounded Group Exhibition

Nov 2021 - Jan 2022 · Fuzhou, China
Local Action,Jimei x Arles International Photo Festival

Nov 2021 - Dec 2021 · Shenzhen, China
Logic of feeling, the 5th Shenzhen International Photography Exhibition

Jul 2021 - Aug 2021 · Fuzhou, China
A Shape of Gray, Solo Exhibition

Apr 2021 · Copenhagen, Denmark
Youth in China, Online Group Photography Exhibition

Mar 2021 - Apr 2021 · Ningbo, China
Most of the time I feel so confused,Solo Photography Exhibition

Nov 2020 - Dec 2020 · Shenzhen, China
FeiTeng Image, Group EXhibition

Oct 2020 · Copenhagen, Denmark
Tropical White Night, Online Photography Exhibition

Aug 2020 · Ibaraki, Japan
Hide and Seek,Group Photography Exhibition

Jun 2020 - Aug 2020 · Shenzhen, China
The night ain't over yet,Solo Photography Exhibition

Dec 2019 - Jan 2020 · New York, United States
Spring Time, Group Photography Exhibition

Oct 2018 - Nov 2018 · Fuzhou, China
It is gonna be alright, Solo Photography Exhibition

Her Curatorial Work

Apr 2022 - Apr 2022 · Chengdu, China
Je te dévore, Bingnan Liu Solo Photography Exhibition

Mar 2022 - Mar 2022 · Chengdu, China
A Person Float by the River, Yusen Wang Solo Photography Exhibition

Dec 2021 - Jan 2022 · Hunan, China
Spreading in a hidden posture, Group Photography Exhibition

Dec 2021 - Jan 2022 · Guangzhou, China
Glimmer in the haze,Group photography exhibition, Foshan

Oct 2021 - Dec 2021 · Beijing/Chengdu/Shanghai, China
A Myriad of Rooms, Group Photography Exhibition

Sep 2021 - Oct 2021 · Adelaide, Australia
Visible Cocklebur, Group Photography Exhibition

Her Interviews, Texts & Reviews

2022 - Memory /IMA Next, Shortlist
2022 - 30 Under 30 Women Photographers / Artpil, Shortlist
2021 - C41 Magazine, Texts
2021 - Broad Magazine, Texts
2021 - Photography of China, Texts
2021 - On The Go, Texts
2021 - Fisheye Magazine,  Interview
2020 - Banshan Gallery, Interview
2020 - Tofu Collective, Texts