Friday, July 25, 2008

A Conversation with Cynthia Wang

the light series, © Cynthia Wang

the self (portrait) series, © Cynthia Wang


Cynthia Wang is a long time friend of mine and always on the creative brigade of ideas. I don't particularly see much photography like her's and always believe she sees and experiences moments and events unlike everyone else. Her photographs are emotional and sometimes whimsical but always leaves you in a state of wonder. She was kind enough to share a little bit about herself as well as her BFA thesis, currently untitled.

NP: Tell us a little about yourself.

CW: I grew up in Brooklyn. I am hearing impaired and sometimes I like to read lips on conversations from afar. Sometimes it is fun and yet sometimes I feel like a little spy. Growing up hearing impaired, I rely a lot on my eyes to compensate for my ears. It helps me understand and put me in place to where I can grasp the sounds that I hear.

let's go, © Cynthia Wang


NP: How did you discover photography?

CW: I am not sure when I first became interested in photography. I always admired classic black and white photographs and the Polaroids that I found in family albums. I first took a photography class during junior year of high school. I started shooting black and white film and became intrigued with the darkroom, the pinhole camera and the various experiments I've learned from my teacher, Ann Hunt Currier.


NP: Where do you find inspiration?

CW: I guess I would say, a lot of random things, life in general, both weird and beautiful things. I like watching film and getting the idea of how a certain depth of camera movements are taken or being seen from a view. Whether it is the mood or the moment I am drawn to the scenery, I become interested in capturing that one second of a frame.

the film series, © Cynthia Wang


NP: How did this project come about?

CW: I was a senior at Syracuse University and at the time, I was struggling with my ongoing project for the BFA show. I did not know how to present the work or myself. After some time, I realized that some of the reasons for this work is part of my complex visual perception. I had an eye infection last year and I felt I was on the verge of losing my vision. My relationship with my ears and eyes became difficult because of the fact that I am hearing impaired and near-sighted. I collected my ideas in response to the dichotomy of discovery and loss. When I was photographing these images, I took out the focus to disorientate the perception by creating a visual complex world that visually compensate to the aural.


NP: What's next?

CW: I recently graduated from Syracuse and I am not sure where to go from now. I have been taking a break on and off. I want to travel and I want to do so many other things that I have not done before. And who doesn't? Maybe eventually something will lead me on the way.

NP: Thank you so much. We hope to see more of your work!

Head over to her Flickr page to grab a closer look at her photographs. To contact her, shoot an email at cynthiadwang [at] gmail.com.

4 comments:

nina corvallo said...

Cynthia, I really like your work. and the interview was very insightful. Thanks, Jane.

Rona Chang said...

Ann Hunt Currier has influenced a bunch of us!

http://www.annhuntcurrier.com

Candace said...

I agree; wonderful work. Thanks for exposing us to Cynthia, Jane.

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