Shana Nys DambrotChristine Yuan’s award-winning work in film and video ranges from the avant-garde to the commercially iconic and insightfully documentarian. A Taiwanese-American born in Los Angeles, Yuan’s work engages directly with a cross-cultural narrative, unpacking experiences across gender and racial identity. With an intensely imaginative style, Yuan’s work is at times meditative and mythological, at times surrealistic and enigmatic, always lively and prismatic and with evocative integrated sound and music. From October 15 – November 15, Yuan will be part of the vitrine video festival Womxn in Windows, an inclusively curated outdoor film project in Chinatown.
Christine Yuan
L.A. WEEKLY: When did you first know you were an artist?
CHRISTINE YUAN: The desire for commercial success is what blinds me from knowing this answer. Ask me again in 30 years.
What is your short answer to people who ask what your work is about?
Dark princess anime and real life human stories.
What would you be doing if you weren’t an artist?
Living in Northern California and working at a flower shop. Although, that sounds more like an artist’s life now that I think about it…
Did you go to art school? Why/Why not?
I went to film school, does that count? I wanted to go to art school, but I didn’t get in any.
Christine Yuan
Why do you live and work in L.A., and not elsewhere?
I was born and raised in L.A. I choose to stay because of my collaborators and the mind-altering sunsets.
Do you listen to music while you work? If so what?
I usually make playlists to inspire each project I’m working on. Right now, it’s between an anxiety-inducing dark and threatening techno playlist with artists like Tzusing and Gesaffelstein and another more soothing and flirty playlist with 70’s female singers like Nico and Lesley Gore. In general if I’m trying to focus, I’ll put on Brian Eno or white noise ASMR plane sounds.
Website and social media handles, please!
Instagram: @christineyuan
Christine Yuan
Advertising disclosure: We may receive compensation for some of the links in our stories. Thank you for supporting LA Weekly and our advertisers.