Earlier this year Yi-Chun Lin, an MA Graphic Moving Image graduate, was chosen as the recipient of an Aspen Online Art Award and £4000!
Yi-Chun explains, “I consider it a real honour that they selected my proposal for the Aspen Collection. I can’t describe how wonderful it feels to receive this award. Not only does this award enable me, financially, to make the artwork, but it is also a great opportunity which I hope will positively affect my career.”
Yi-Chun’s proposed artwork was largely inspired by Chinese Shan-shui paintings. These paintings have a rich history dating back to ancient times and they usually explore the concept of Utopia.
It is a common misconception that Shan-shui paintings only depict landscapes; instead Shan-shui paintings are more a meditation on the artist’s position in relation to the real world.
“For me, when meditating over the concept of a Utopia, I find that it is a welcome escape from reality, and from what can be an often a frustrating world,” explains Yi-Chun. “Thus, I wanted to create an abstract digital representation of Utopia, using Shan-shui as a reference art form.”
Yi-Chun in now using the prize money to realise his project, which he hopes will be completed in the coming months.