Wen-Ying ‘Jonah’ Yang: The Enigmatic and Representational Faces

【楊文穎 - 綺麗與被代表的面孔】

Artist: Wen-Ying ‘Jonah’ Yang
Art Critic: Hu Jungyi

藝術家Artist：楊文穎 Jonah Yang

文 / 藝評人 Art Critic：胡鐘尹 Hu Jungyi

Published: August 15, 2024

Artist_Wen-Ying Yang (Jonah Yang) is an outstanding and creative Taiwanese visual artist based in London. He completed his Master's degree in Art & Space at Kingston University London and Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts at Taipei National University of the Arts. In recent years, besides showcasing his impressive paintings, he has worked on numerous big international as well as cross-border art collaborations with famous  Art Directors, and his paintings have been broadcast in countries such as China, Malaysia, and Thailand.

藝術家_楊文穎 Jonah Yang，是一位現居倫敦創作的傑出台灣視覺藝術家，先後在台北藝術大學、英國倫敦金斯頓大學，完成了藝術創作及藝術與空間研究的碩士，近年除了繪畫發表，也與多位影視導演完成了多場美術的跨國合作，他的繪畫作品甚至在中國、馬來西亞、泰國等國播出。

Painting is Jonah Yang's primary form of creation, through which he shapes his unique social experiences and artistic insights. In his artworks, he is skilled at capturing everyday visual sources, such as those found in advertisements, magazines, billboards, or fleeting symbols from social media, using them as anchors and sampling the observation points for social context. Alternatively, he also incorporates characters from popular cartoon cultures to discuss the "representational" and "symbolic" nature and aspects derived from these "role characters," exploring and highlighting the contradictions and inner conflicts that arise during the transition between a person’s "innate character (true self)" and their "constructed personas." The various psychological states he portrays include confidence, daydreaming, joy, subservience, ecstasy, and complacency. These depictions offer an ever-present space and process for deep observation, meaningful understanding, and exploration of human nature. "Understanding," for Jonah Yang, corresponds to the pictorial language of "enchantment," "playfulness," and "self-mockery," transforming awkwardness into an inspiring and positive driving force. This expresses the special abilities that his paintings carry: "role-switching" and "regulation," allowing the concealed and obscure truths of human nature in social settings to be reflected and revealed.

而繪畫作為楊文穎最主要的創作形式，他以此形塑自己獨特的社會體驗與藝術見解。在圖像上，他擅長以日常性的影像取攝，如廣告、雜誌、看板或社群網站流通與閃過的符號訊息，做為某種社會背景的定錨與抽樣觀察點，或取用流行卡漫文化中的角色，從一種「角色人物」所引出的「代表性」與「象徵性」來談論，人的「本我性格」與「人設」之間，在轉換時，發生的矛盾與內在衝突。心理狀態的多樣面貌：自信、放空、愉悅、卑屈、狂喜、愜意自得。讓我們對人本身的觀察，永遠有值得理解、探索的空間與過程。理解是為了有意義的認識，而「理解」對應楊文穎的繪畫語言來說，便是以「綺麗」、「遊戲」、「自嘲」之姿，將窘迫轉化為具有啟發與積極性的驅動力，表達繪畫可以運用的某種特殊能力－「換位」與「調控」。來讓社會場域中，埋藏的、隱晦的人性真實，可以反映並流露出來。

Bulgarian-French Psychoanalyst Julia Kristeva mentioned, "In abjection, there is a strong yet muted protest of life against what is threatening it." (Full original text: "Il y a dans l'abjection une opposition tenace et pourtant voilée, révoltée et sécurisante, par laquelle un être vivant se défend contre ce qui le menace, semble-t-il, de l'extérieur ou de l'intérieur transgressif, projeté à la limite du possible, du tolérable, du pensable. Cet objet est là, proche mais inassimilable. Il attise le désir, perturbe le désir, fascine le désir, et pourtant le désir ne s'y laisse pas prendre. Devant lui, l'être vivant se détourne, effrayé ; il vomit ce qui le dégoûte. Une instinctualité absolue le protège contre l'humiliation, il en est fier, il en est le principe.")

法籍保加利亞裔精神分析家 克里斯蒂娃（ Julia Kristeva ）談到了「在卑賤中，有一種強烈而又隱隱的反抗，它是生靈藉以對付威脅物的反抗。這一威脅物似乎來自某個外部，或者來自某個越界的內部，一個拋在可能、可容忍、可想邊緣的內部。」

When we look at Jonah Yang's paintings, we can slightly perceive a sense of unease and discomfort within the elaborately arranged eerie and enchanting atmosphere. This disturbance intentionally evokes certain conflicts to challenge the overly "normal" viewing habits and address the numbness of society's "normalized anomalies." News is no longer a medium that provokes reflection; instead, it becomes mediocrity, a mundane daily drama. Knowingly, Jonah Yang constructs a theatrical atmosphere within his paintings’ spaces, pleasantly inviting viewers to "return to the abnormal." Through this awareness of abnormality, the goal is to see if we can regain some of our original judgment and the insight into social issues.

而當我們在觀看楊文穎的繪畫時，從他作品精心佈置的詭譎綺異氛圍中，隱隱地可以察覺到某種令人不安與不適的感官。這是一種擾動，是當繪畫有意地激起某些衝突，為的是要反對，某些「太過正常」的觀看習慣，對應社會中「異常的常態化」的麻木現象，新聞不再是能引起反思的媒介，而是一種太過平庸的日常戲劇。藝術家有意地，在繪畫的內部空間，組織一種劇場氛圍，透過遊戲的邀請，意圖觸發觀者「重返異常」，從異常的覺察裡，看看大夥還能否找回些我們原初的判斷，以及對社會問題的病識感（insight）。

Within the interplay of reality and fantasy in Jonah Yang’s paintings, death and play intertwined, and the flowing trance and the narratives of scenes reveal a blend of hyperreality and simulated imagination. In these ambiguities, sometimes the "violent" or "immoral" character depictions reflect a satirical view of the world. Jonah Yang uses vibrant primary colours mixed with pastel shades of white and grey, creating a unique chromatic garment within the atmosphere. This outlines the peculiar psychological states of modern culture, filled with paradox and ambivalence: the desire to maintain distance for self-identification, while simultaneously longing for closeness in the context of social interactions to remain in the spotlight, especially within community-oriented groups. Jonah Yang employs an astonishing yet tactful style, piercing through the multifaceted and psychologically sensitive traits of modern individuals. He guides viewers and audiences into a bizarre, hyperreal world that blurs the line between reality and illusion.

繪畫作品中出現的虛實交錯氛圍，死亡與遊戲相互羈絆，並在一種流轉的出神與場景敘事中，看到超真實與想像模擬，在兩者之間的模稜兩可。或者，有時我們從作品中，藉由那些顯得有些「暴戾」及「背德」的人物扮相與姿態上，意識到一種宛如對世間的嘲諷與反射。楊文穎以顏料擠出的鮮豔原色，融合白與灰階的粉彩調子，形成氛圍中的特異彩衣，勾勒出現代文化充滿弔詭與曖昧性的異樣心理：人們既希望保持距離，形成自我識別，同時又渴望在社群化的社會互動群體中拉近距離，以免偏離關注。楊文穎運用詭譎又敏感的筆調，穿刺現代人的多面向及精神敏感的特質。帶領觀者，進入一個光怪陸離、似真似假的超真實世界。

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【 展覽資訊 Exhibition information 】

展覽 (1)

Exhibition Venue : 

De.Light Art Gallery

高雄市前鎮區林森三路193巷6號

No.6, Ln.193, Linsen 3rd Rd., Qianzhen Dist., Kaohsiung City, Taiwan.

Exhibition Period : 

2023/01/20 - Present

展覽 (2)

Exhibition Venue : 

The Light Art Gallery

高雄市苓雅區建國一路137-5號

No.137-5, Jianguo 1st Rd., Lingya Dist., Kaohsiung City, Taiwan.

Exhibition Period : 

2022/12/17 - Present

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Artist Wen-Ying ‘Jonah’ Yang’s Website:

https://wenying1996.wixsite.com/jonahyang-finearts

Artist Wen-Ying ‘Jonah’ Yang’s Instagram Art Profile:

@jonah.yang.finearts

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Art Critic – Hu Jung-Yi A professional Art Critic. Graduated from Tung Hai University Department of Fine Arts, with nearly four years of industry experience at Tina Keng Gallery & TKG+. Three-time recipient of the Grand View Culture & Art Foundation Art Criticism Award and the winner of the Excellent Art Criticism Award by Absolute Space for the Arts. Integrating artistic understanding and awareness through creation, theoretical research, and practical work, I have focused on independent research and writing art criticism in recent years. My articles have appeared on platforms such as Art Emperor, Easy-Reading-About-Art from National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, Art Plus and in galleries.. My primary focus is on the dynamic creative essence presented through the perceptible "materiality" of artists, and the psychological, material, and practical exchanges between these elements.

專業藝評人 – 胡鐘尹 藝術評論人，東海大學美術系西畫創作組畢，曾歷練耿畫廊&TKG+等累積近四年的產業實務經驗。三度獲獎鴻梅文化基金會藝評得獎人、絕對放送藝評佳作獎。以創作、理論研究、實務工作整合藝術認識與覺知的進行式，近年主要以獨立研究與藝評撰稿為發展，文章散見於非池中藝術網、國美E讀誌、Art Plus及許多畫廊。主要關注藝術家面對可感的「質料物性」(material)延伸心理、物性、實踐之間的精神交換作用，呈顯之動態創作本體。