Beacon, NY
hello@msyinmei.com
Artist Statement:
”Life is too short to be too serious.”
- Yin Mei
To be honest, for a long time I struggled with understanding the mystery that is called “art.” Just as I imagine an archeologist might experience: before understanding the function of any newly found object, one can easily misinterpret the object’s real purpose or value. Now that I understand my own intentions for the function of art, I can now suggest that our metaphorical archeologist may actually have a unique opportunity to reimagine the function of existing objects or even in some cases discover a misunderstood object’s original intrinsic value. That act of re-interpretation is an act of art.
As a newly emerging artist, I have chosen to lean into the materials of time with reality as my canvas. My art is composed of experiences that can deliver a sense of agency to participants, to activate the artist in all of us. My intention is to activate art as an energy that transforms and inspires, and that my artistic efforts hold the power to allow art to continue to belong in the public sphere beyond traditional art spaces.
I realize that my art may take a life of it’s own as I stumble through this medium in an attempt to share beautiful ideas among communities that will continue to spread and transform the way we value our own roles in this collaboration we call life.
Artist Bio:
Yin Mei is an interdisciplinary artist, poet and software engineer whose multimedia art experiences explores human patterns and expands our potential for co-existence. From the perspective of a poet, she delivers art as lived experiences outside of the constraints of language.
Her art practice began at a young age, through traditional Chinese calligraphy painting and eventually evolved into western techniques and mediums. Her first formal foray into the art world was as a student of artist Yi Kai at the age of ten, where she stepped into her non-conformity streak by adding a two dimensional ice cream thought bubble to her own watercolor piece in a group exhibition of still life assignments all studying the same subject matter (a penguin, in water color).
In early adulthood, Yin found her role in the arts community as a community builder. She organized her inaugural event as a multimedia performance for the finale event for the Australian Embassy of Beijing as a part of the 2011 Year of Australian Culture. Until 2013, she continued to organize more artistic events for various galleries as well as curate professional industry communities when organizing quarterly events for TEDxBeijing, Barcamp Beijing, and Alumni Networks of Beijing.
When she moved to New York, she continued to build communities in search of productive purpose in a world focused on fast profit. Through her process, she continued expanding her knowledge and skillset in technology and philosophy. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she emerged as a poet and exhibited at a global digital performance called Dear Future Us on March 20, 2022. organized by Tan Siok Siok. She was also invited by artist Aida Murad to join her in collaborative co-creation of her art on a panel at Stronger than Stigma’s Living Room Installation in Soho, NY.
It wasn’t until she moved to Hudson Valley did she discover the upstate art world at large and more closely the playful nature of Artport Kingston where she is currently exhibiting her first interactive installation. Echo Systems is her first series, and an umbrella concept for a series of activations exploring transformative cycles.
After spending childhood in Minnesota, Yin has lived across Berkeley, Beijing, Paris, New York City, and finally landing in the Hudson Valley. She occasionally spends time in the Fingerlakes imagining a humble artist residency and retreat. destination in a quiet forest of her own, where she hopes to continue imagining ways to revitalize artistic eco-systems to nourish small towns across the constellation of New York State.
Born in China, Yin immigrated as a young child to the United States with her immediate family after the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre disturbed their hope to build in a nation with a stable future. Her family raised her lovingly by choosing to move to the US, pulled by the constitution’s promise to protect certain freedoms and liberties fundamental to human wellness. She holds a masters in Cybersecurity from NYU and a bachelors of science in Psychology from UC Berkeley.
