In Daily Practice Jue Yang shows ‘Units of Keeping’, an installation with two video works: ‘since brass nor stone nor earth nor endless sea’ (2021) and ‘there is no death in gravity’ (2020).

‘since brass nor stone nor earth nor endless sea’ (2021) (7’4’’) is an edit of documentary scenes shot at Yang’s previous apartment in Rotterdam during the pandemic. The symbols in the subtitles reflect a search for translating common daily sounds into text. ‘there is no death in gravity ‘(2020) (7’37’’) reads like a meditative reflection on existence through the means of an apple. What binds the two films is the emphasis on home, daily life, inner questions and a surrounding of sounds coming and going.

“With film editing and writing, the screen has become my main site of production, and my fingers seem to have lost their places off the keyboard. When offered the space at Daily Practice to show my films, I was determined to work with physical space and materials. To get in touch – this was the beginning of the installation.I wish to make feelings tangible: of fragmentation and uncertainty, of futility and imperfection, which occurr in my films and in my life. Even though I have shown films on large screens, I have very little experience with creating installations. For ‘Units of Keeping’ I had the wish to embed my films among new objects, and I wanted to reduce the domination of the films within an installation. This has led me to collaborating with artist and designer Ying-Ting Shen (b.1990, Hualien/Taiwan), who supported me with her knowledge and skills.”

‘Units of Keeping’ constitutes the beginning of Jue Yang’s research into tactile connection, which she is developing with an O&O grant from the CBK Rotterdam. “Can I create something where touch ‘seeps’ from the flat surface of the image? What could encourage the viewer to reach out and feel connected to the work in the mind of their hands? How can I foster the willingness to know, understand and believe through tactility?”

In the publication “the world is on halt, yet I am more glad than terrified”, Jue Yang comments on the two films presented in “Units of Keeping”. The publication is part of a larger publication project “Quiet Times” (expected winter 2022/2023). For the exhibition, Jue Yang has printed special single copies for reading and for purchase. “Quiet Times” will consist of four proses from 2020-2022 in which Yang visits moments of friendship, family and her own body during a time period of restricted mobility and reduced contact. “Quiet Times” will also contain a distribution link for the films shown in “Units of Keeping”.

For making this exhibition Jue Yang received financial support from Fonds Kwadraat and Stichting Stokroos.

Jue Yang (b.1988, Shanghai/China) is an artist, writer and filmmaker living in Rotterdam. In 2020 she graduated from the Lens-based Media program at Piet Zwart Institute. At different periods of her life, she has dwelled in China, the United States and, briefly, in Mexico. In the past, she has been a playwright among other things. In her recent work, she seeks ways to make feelings tangible through installations and moving images. Themes in her work have included: belonging, home, personal agency, language and time.

Ying-Ting Shen (b.1990, Hualien/Taiwan) is an artist and designer based in Rotterdam. Her work is influenced by her past education as an interior architect. It mainly focuses on the space, structural elements, and surrounding environment. She transforms her inspiration of the location into site-specific and interactive installations.