Yang Yongliang´s works I

In the first creation of Phantom Landscape I used "Mountain Water" a symbolic element of China. This title includes two things literally: one is the City I live in, the other Mountain Water (meaning Landscape in Chinese).

City is the place I inhabit, a place growing with me and which contains my memories. A mirage or Phantom (City) is a desired state or environment which I have only imagined.

Mountain Water (Landscape), the imitation of the traditional art from my childhood as well as the art form that is disappearing with the city and I growing.

The birth of Phantom Landscape does not come up by accident. City and Landscape, I love them and hate them at the same time.

I love the familiarity of the city, more so to hate it growing too fast and invading everything around at an unexpected speed. I love the depth and inclusiveness of traditional Chinese Art, more so to hate its non-progress attitude. I have input this complex feeling to my blood and let it out to form my art work.

Ancient Chinese expressed their appreciation of nature and feeling for it by painting the Landscape. In contrast, I make my Landscape to criticise the realities in my eyes.

Phantom Landscape over the three series has gone through a progress from form to content, imitation to creation and a journey towards maturity through exploring. Slowly I have started to be able to clarify what I am saying through art.

Yang Yongliang.