This interview was initially published by Art Alpha. I'll tell you part one and part two. This time we will bring you the second part.

Yang Yongliang Interview Part1

Honoring and creating at the same time Utilizing modern means, but also a sense of craftsmanship

Yang Yongliang《Lilac Bonfire》2024-2025, 100.0 × 100.0 cm, Oil on canvas

- (Art Alpha)Did you have to read a lot of ancient Chinese Shanshui artworks to create your compositions?

Yang Yongliang: Regarding composition, I have built an extensive database containing a wealth of information on Chinese landscape paintings. However, usable resources are limited, particularly because there are very few Chinese paintings with urban themes and even fewer classic works that I truly admire and draw inspiration from.

In contrast, when working with new materials, I draw more heavily from traditional Chinese painting and calligraphy compositions. This reference goes beyond mere stylistic citation; it involves a fundamental reconstruction and refinement of compositional structures throughout the creative process. My aim is to preserve the spatial hierarchy inherent in Chinese painting and calligraphy while adapting it to meet the demands of contemporary visual expression.

Yang Yongliang《Queen's Bridge Ed. 6/15》2024, 60.0 × 60.0 cm, Giclee Print

- Did you have to read a lot of ancient Chinese Shanshui artworks to create your compositions?

Yang: Regarding composition, I have built an extensive database containing a wealth of information on Chinese landscape paintings. However, usable resources are limited, particularly because there are very few Chinese paintings with urban themes and even fewer classic works that I truly admire and draw inspiration from.

In contrast, when working with new materials, I draw more heavily from traditional Chinese painting and calligraphy compositions. This reference goes beyond mere stylistic citation; it involves a fundamental reconstruction and refinement of compositional structures throughout the creative process. My aim is to preserve the spatial hierarchy inherent in Chinese painting and calligraphy while adapting it to meet the demands of contemporary visual expression.

Yang Yongliang《Celadon Foothill》 2024-2025, 250.0 × 200.0 cm, Oil on canvas

- There are also some of your photographs in this exhibition, what is the process of creating these works?

Yan: Almost all my works are shot by me—a deep-rooted habit, or perhaps even an obsession. I find that material captured by others never fully integrates into my creative process. No matter how inconvenient it may be, I insist on shooting everything myself.

I once attempted to have someone else gather basic footage for me, but it never truly worked. Even when the files were on my computer, I would subconsciously overlook them, and over time, the entire folder would be forgotten. In contrast, the images I capture myself always carry a special emotional imprint. Every frame’s composition, the interplay of light and shadow, and even my state of mind at the moment of pressing the shutter resurface during post-processing, becoming an integral part of my creation.

Yang Yongliang《Emerald Sunburn》2024, 150.0 × 150.0 cm, Oil on Canvas

With advancements in equipment, I have been expanding my shooting style. I now use drones to capture more diverse perspectives, especially from angles that are difficult to achieve with conventional photography. For instance, in my work featuring the sea, I used a drone to fly deep over the water, capturing images that look back at the city from the sea’s vantage point.

This perspective was nearly impossible to achieve in the past. Today, however, drones have greatly improved in stability and shooting precision. They not only capture high-quality still images but also record stunning videos, allowing me to explore spatial relationships and the interplay of light and shadow with greater freedom.

Vanishing Mountains at Whitestone Gallery Beijing, 2025

Post-production is still the core part of my creation, where a large amount of material is imported into the computer for splicing and reorganization to form the final image.

In recent years, I have started incorporating AI tools in subtle ways, primarily for refining small local details—adjusting textures, enhancing details, and optimizing certain elements of an image. However, my overall approach remains rooted in manual compositing, with AI serving only as a supplementary tool.

For me, AI is not a decisive part of the creative process but merely an aid. I still rely on my personal perception and intuition to refine the emotional depth and delicacy of my final works, ensuring that each piece retains its intended artistic expression.

Yang Yongliang《Goose Ed. 15/15》2021, 130.0 × 90.0 cm, Giclee Print

- Is there a connection between your video works? Or does each piece exist independently?

Yang: On the surface, each work is independent, but if you go deeper, you will find that there is a connection between them. This kind of connection is not a direct narrative connection, but a more abstract and internal one. Sometimes, a new piece of work may echo some ideas I had a few years ago or resonate with another piece of work that seems to be unrelated or even belongs to a different medium.

Like the relationship between my video works and experimental films, there is not a linear continuation between them, but a freer chemical reaction. A certain theme, a certain emotion or visual language may be reproduced and extended in different ways in different works, and they influence and permeate each other to form a greater whole.

Not limiting yourself to any medium Truly powerful work is inclusive and open

Vanishing Mountains at Whitestone Gallery Beijing, 2025

- In your work, emotions such as a sense of loss and fading rituals brought about by rapid development are expressed very strongly. Over the years, have you received any feedback that has impressed you?

Yang: The feedback I have received is sometimes quite interesting. Some people can see their own emotional projection in my works, which corresponds to several stages of my creative mind.

When I first started to create, around 2007, my thoughts were very direct, and I desperately wanted to show the audience something that they might have overlooked. I felt like I had discovered something important, like I was telling the audience, ‘You didn't notice, but I saw it, and I want to tell you about it.’ The expression at that point was with a certain declarative quality.

Yang Yongliang《The Streams Ed. 2/7》2023, 8'00”, Single Channel 4K Video

But then, as time went by and I looked at the works of many international masters, I gradually realized that the value of art does not lie in simply telling the viewer the answer, but rather in going on to ask questions.

A higher level of artwork should be interpreted by different audiences with their own experiences, so that the artwork becomes a reminder rather than a proclamation. In this way, the audience can really participate, rather than passively accepting some kind of ‘I know more than you do’ perspective from above. I think powerful work is inclusive and open.

Vanishing Mountains at Whitestone Gallery Beijing, 2025

Then later, as I grew up, my experiences changed, and I was exposed to more works, I gained a new understanding of the role of an artist.

I began to realize that creating art is more like building a world - I invite the viewer into my world, and everything here is a presentation of my spirit. No matter what the medium is, it is essentially a world created by the artist with his or her own vision. When the viewer enters the work, they enter this world, and the experience itself is more powerful and intriguing than the mere conveyance of information.

Because of this, I don't want to limit myself to just one medium. Many artists only do photography, and then their audience will be limited to those who like photography. But I want to open the boundaries of media, so that more people can enter my world, even if they are not interested in photography at the beginning, they can still experience my works through different ways.

Yang Yongliang《Emerald Ripples》2024, 150.0 × 150.0 cm, Oil on canvas

For example, in recent years I have started to experiment with VR, which can present what I want to express more intuitively, and the viewer can even really ‘walk into’ the space.

During the epidemic, the project was suspended for a while, because the way of exhibition and interaction was limited, and the VR headset was not suitable in that environment. But now, as the technology advances and the hardware become more mature, I have restarted this direction.

Currently, I am not only exploring the way of displaying traditional VR devices but also thinking about how to create an immersive panoramic experience, so that viewers can feel the immersion of entering another world without wearing VR devices.

For me, creation is always an exploratory process, and I am constantly adjusting and expanding my means of expression.

Yang Yongliang, Pink Dawn, at the exhibition Vanishing Mountains Whitestone Gallery Beijing, 2025

- In recent years, there has been a lot of talk about new mediums, such as NFT and AI, which are becoming more and more widely used in art creation. But you seem to have returned to the relatively traditional medium of painting. How do you see the opportunities and challenges brought by new media?

Yang: I think the opportunities and challenges brought by new media exist side by side. Taking AI as an example, it is true that it can dramatically increase the efficiency of creation, and many jobs that used to take days to complete can now be created in an instant. However, I basically won't let the audience notice what role AI has played in my creation, because I am more concerned about the emotional expression of the work, and AI still has great limitations in this regard.

As for NFT, when it was very popular back then, many people suggested that I go into it, but I never got into it. My judgement is that NFT is essentially just a blockchain-based technology, and the only thing that makes it valuable to me might be the concept of digital certificates that can be used to authenticate the uniqueness of new media art. But other than that, it doesn't touch the core value of the art itself. So, I chose to wait and see, and for me, NFT might even undermine the value of offline art, so I never really tried it.

Vanishing Mountains at Whitestone Gallery Beijing, 2025

The emergence of AI has given me some ideas, such as training my own AI model to assist in creation. However, in practice, I found that the current limitations of AI are still very large. Although its generative ability is powerful, it often lacks the ‘soul’ of art. Visually it can bring a sense of shock, but it is difficult to let people produce long-term emotional resonance.

True art is not only about visual impact, but also about the different feelings it brings when you look at it, when you experience it, and even when you remember it, whereas AI works usually only stay at the first level of impact.

From an aesthetic point of view, I think AI will probably replace most of the visual aspects of work in the future, especially in fields where technology and efficiency are the focus. However, the core of art is uniqueness, the personal expression of the artist, while AI aims to cater to the masses, which is essentially different. So, while AI may affect some aspects of the art industry, truly top-notch, uniquely valuable art will remain difficult to replace.

Vanishing Mountains at Whitestone Gallery Beijing, 2025

- In the early days of video art in China, many artists flocked to the field, using the medium to express themes such as rapid urban change. However, in recent years the craze seems to be fading, but you have been deeply involved in this field and are now considered one of the few representatives still active in this field, why haven't you changed this original intention?

Yang: In fact, this is closely related to my educational background. When I was a child, I studied traditional Chinese art, including Chinese painting, calligraphy, seal carving, and even framing. Although I wasn't proficient, these experiences shaped my artistic perception. When I entered university, I studied visual communication design and started to get in touch with practical art. This major gave me an in-depth understanding of digital art, including photography and the creation of digital images. Later, these became part of my expression, and the themes of my creations were naturally formed.

Growing up in the suburbs of Shanghai, I am neither a native of the city center nor a complete outsider. This ‘in-between’ perspective allows me to observe the city’s development from both a subjective and objective standpoint. My work is a genuine reflection of my inner world, driven by an instinctive response to my surroundings—this passion has sustained me over time.

As for why I continue working in this field, the answer is simple: it is who I am. My art is deeply rooted in my experiences and emotions, and it is not something I can—or would ever want to—change deliberately.

YANG YONGLIANG: Vanishing Mountains