Welcome back to Doin' Work: Flash Interviews With Contemporary Photographers. This is a place to celebrate the photographers who inspire me, and present you with an easily digestible bite of their personalities and work.
This week's guest is Wenxin Zhang. Wenxin (b. 1989) lives and works in both China and United States. She received her MFA at California College of the Arts. Zhang's work considers the intricate relationship between the real and the fabricated, creating multipart projects that unearth the complex layers of delusion and estrangement embedded within her non-linear imagery. She was selected in the 2016 BJP Talent Issue, a finalist in 2014 Three Shadows Photography Award as well as the 2014 Leica Oskar Barnack Newcomer Award.
The artist as a young child, image courtesy Wenxin Zhang
Where do you live and work and how does it impact your photography?
I've been living in Queens, New York for a little over a year. My life is kind of always in a drift. I was born in a small city in China, went to grad school in California, then moved to New York. I also travel and dream a lot. I believe all the places I've been to formed me, as well as my photography.
When and how did you get your start in photography?
I think I started thinking as a photographer even before owning a camera. I traveled a lot with my journalist father when I was little. I paid lots of attention to my surroundings in the trips. Those memories have become virtual albums.
What compels you to pick up your camera?
I studied drawing and painting in a very young age, when I realized that I couldn't elaborate what was in my mind with ink I took my father's camera and started shooting. I was 13.
Blue Waterfall, image courtesy Wenxin Zhang
What are you working on now?
I am writing and doing research for my ongoing project "polymorphic expedition". It discusses the meaning of journey in the nowadays where people hugely rely on technology to experience the world. I collaborate with a programmer/designer and we are planning to create an online journey, which contains texts, photos, videos and 3d models.
If you had to explain your work to a child, how would you describe it?
I wouldn't explain it. I would just show them my work and ask them what they see, and then build up a story with their interpretation. I've tried it and I love their reactions. Children often have amazing abilities of creating their own stories based on given materials.
Do you make a living as a photographer? If yes, please explain how. If no, tell me about your day job and how you balance photography with said job.
I do sell my works and take art commissions, but besides that, not really. I write a lot. I write interviews and reviews for art media. I also work as a part-time social media person in an art foundation that I really like. I do not like commercial photography, I almost dislike every part of it. But I will do it if it pays well and dare to challenge itself.
Snowflake, image courtesy Wenxin Zhang
Show me the image you feel you're best known for. What are your thoughts on it?
It's often true that the most known works of an artist is not the favorite ones of the artist herself. People are attracted by sublime things.
What - if anything - frustrates you about photography?
There used to be frustration towards a medium from me, but now there isn't. As soon as I abandon the conservative thoughts about photography, then there's no problem. Opening up and stop criticizing things that you don't really understand.
Describe your working process.
I start with writing. Then I create a framework based on the writing. I shoot like I'm making a movie.
Mustard Curtain, image courtesy Wenxin Zhang
Describe the approach you take when establishing a relationship with a subject.
In terms of people, I am an introvert so it can get hard. Normally I only keep an ephemeral relationship with people that I take photos of. I love strangers.
In terms of nonhuman subjects, I feel a lot more comfortable. I do a lot of research on it and go visit it once and once again, until I feel that I have built a heart to heart relationship with it. But the relationship is of course very arbitrary. I know it.
What do you think of the vast sea of online photography? What's your approach for standing out?
It's just like a normal ocean, there's a lot of trash and oil floating on its surface. But if you dive deep, you will see beautiful fish and coral reef. I don't know if I stand out, I just dive deep.
Victoria Bay, image courtesy Wenxin Zhang
What are you most proud of in terms of your work?
It made my mother understand me more. I think art making is about communication. My mom and me used to fight a lot, now we are very close.
What are you doing when you're not making pictures?
I probably only spend one percent of my time making pictures. For me, making pictures without anything in mind is boring, so I spend most of my time absorbing things in life and learning to understand sophisticated emotions as well as theories. I also love to sleep, I constantly have crazy dreams that I love. Dating is important too.
The Blue Eye, image courtesy Wenxin Zhang
What do you think the future of photography might look like?
I don't think there will be a specific future of how photography looks like. It will keep evolving and keep mating with other media. It's like a magical fluid.
Name three contemporary photographers that blow your mind.
Dina Lawson, Lieko Shiga, Chen Chieh-jen.
The most important question of all: dogs or cats? Why?
Capybaras. They are the most gentle, loving and wise animals. Looking at them makes me peaceful and feel loved.
Deer Forest, image courtesy Wenxin Zhang