Yuyang Chen

"Untitled"

Section MS18, Ayanna Blair-Ford

Keywords: family, diaspora, home, china

This film is a deeply personal reflection on home, family, and the complexities of emotional connection. It explores conflicting feelings of love, guilt, and the desire for independence, framed through an intimate visual and auditory journey. The work grapples with past expressions of frustration and pain directed toward family, juxtaposed with an awareness that everything in the present is shaped by them. A striking metaphor runs throughout—the sensation of looking into the future through a telescope made from the ribs of one’s parents, longing to fly while bound to the past.

The piece unfolds through a layering of personal archives, combining home videos, family images, and recorded voice chats with the artist’s grandmother. These fragments capture shifting moods and moments, reflecting both deep affection and the weight of expectation. The film examines the tension between familial closeness and the pressure of constant visibility, evoking the sensation of being observed and known yet yearning for space. This paradox, both suffocating and familiar, resonates with shared experiences of familial bonds.