Statement

Artist Statement

I initiated my artist career as an animated filmmaker. I was fascinated by the texture of textiles under camera lens and developed a system to utilize embroidery as animated characters. This passion for materials later led me to explore the possibility of working in sculpture and installation, further stimulated my curiosity to analyze the cultural meanings behind materials.

I observe the distinctness of people’s cognitive thinking and the similarity of human experience in different civilizations. 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.

My work range from sculptures made of gummi bears, licorice lace, package foods and found objects to conventional medium of paper, clay, glass and bronze. The variety of materials I work with is essential because they relay particular message 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.

Starting in 2007, the multidisciplinary nature of my work expanded to include collaborations with glass artists, amateur artisans and performing artists. It is my wish to broaden the definition and experience of fine art and its creators.

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’s work has been featured in gallery and museum exhibitions around the country, as well as numerous international film festivals, most notably in Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY and Fort Wayne Museum of Art, Fort Wayne, IN.. She received four film awards on her animated films and two Artists' Resource for Completion Grant from Durfee Foundation, Santa Monica, CA.. Her works were reviewed in art magazines and newspapers around the world, including Fiberarts, Artillery and ArtScene in the United States.