Artist Statement

To tell a story is to reinforce one’s ideology. From making films to creating art, this principle plays an important role in my works.

I observe the distinctness of people’s cognitive thinking and the similarity of human experience in different cultures. I am interested in utilizing familiar objects or images to depict the dichotomy found inside highly developed societies. Elements from nature, animal and plant images often appear in my work, because they create an invisible tension or distance from our modern lifestyles.

Over the years, I have applied craft materials and found objects on paintings, also created sculptures with food or fabrics. The variety of materials I work with is essential because they represent particular meanings based on each individual viewer’s background. My focus is on the related experience created by the audience when they encounter my work, instead of the definition of the concept itself.

Biography

Born and raised in Taiwan, YaYa Chou moved to Los Angeles in 1997 to study Experimental Animation. Being inspired by scene and set design for clay animation, the award-winning filmmaker turned her interests to sculpture and installation. Without formal training in the visual art, Chou remains a self-taught mixed-media artist.

YaYa Chou’s works combine humor and commentary on modern lifestyles; they are inspired by language, social phenomenon and melody, stemmed from consumption, theory, and words. Mostly she investigates the assumption of what is natural and what is unnatural.

Chou has showed her works in galleries and museums around the country, as well as numerous international film festivals, including Museum of Modern Art , New York and Contemporary Art Center of Virginia, Virginia . She is currently showing with galleries in Los Angeles, Minneapolis and Taipei, Taiwan. Her works are featured in Fiberarts magazine, books and newspapers in the U.S. and Taiwan.