Art Atrium present William Yang
Sydney Contemporary 2023, Booth H03
Carriageworks
7 to 10 September
Born in North Queensland, William Yang moved to Sydney in 1969, working as a freelance photographer documenting Sydney’s social life, which included the glamorous celebrity set and the hedonistic, sub-cultural gay community. In 1977, Sydneyphiles at the Australian Centre for Photography launched his career as a gallery photographer.
In the 1980s, Yang began to explore his Chinese heritage, and his photographic themes expanded to include landscapes and the Chinese community in Australia. In 1989, he integrated his writing and visual artist skills, performing monologues with slide projection in the theatre. Touring the world, Yang has eleven full-length works, telling personal stories and exploring issues of identity.
Yang is the type of social documentary photographer with a camera around his neck, ready to capture the world as it happens around him. But Yang’s creative process also involves revisiting his photographs and using hindsight to recompose their meaning. This is particularly evident in his theatrical performances, where he presents photographs in a slide-show format with a live commentary.
William Yang, The Story of Joe, 2020, inkjet print, , 27 × 40cm; Golden Summer, 1987/2016, gold leaf on inkjet print, 40 × 29cm; Tamarama Lifesavers,1981, silver gelatin print, 39 × 70cm; Great Wave Off Clovelly, digital inkjet print, 40 × 40cm; William in Scholars Costume, 1984/2009, inkjet print, 79 × 52cm; Self Portrait #2, 1948/2008, inkjet print, 70 × 40cm. Courtesy the artist and Art Atrium, Sydney
Yang’s current practice is photo-based, with gallery exhibitions embracing both documentary photography and photo media – text written on the prints is often a feature of his work. He continues to perform spoken works with image projection in the theatre. He has converted three of his theatre performances – My Generation, Friends of Dorothy, and Blood Links – into films.
In 2021, Yang had a major retrospective, Seeing and Being Seen, at Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane, comprising 250 printed works, videos, and four films.
