Danful Yang

HK Magazine: How did you first get into art?
Danful Yang: I started off working [in fields unrelated to] art. I had a degree in business from East China University of Science and Technology, and then I worked in production at Pearl Lam Galleries. I fell in love with art there; the gallery helped me a lot with my designs, and supported me along the way. I went on to to study art and design in London, and am now working with [Lam's design firm] XYZ Design.

HK: Are you influenced by any artists in particular?
DY: [French artist] Andre Dubreuil, who is also showing here at Pearl Lam Galleries [in the same exhibition], was a great mentor to me. He introduced me to decorative art, and his work influenced me a lot. Both our works are inspired by Chinese craftsmanship. He has also taught me a lot of other things outside of art.

HK: Can you tell us about your new exhibition?
DY: I find that westerners tend to criticize China for its fake products, as well as our mass production and consumption, but I think they are no different to us. If you go on the streets [of Europe], you will find that they do the same thing, too, with fake branded bags. Hence I used the “Fake” series to demonstrate that, by using Chinese mass-produced fake imperial chairs [along with] fake branded bags used by westerners. For the “Devils or Angel” series, I wanted to show how what we are doing now will affect babies. They are our future and this is what they will become. We need to realize we can’t keep polluting or using up all our natural resources. Human greed will lead to nasty things and the ones who are affected are our babies. In the boxes featured in the “Packing Me Softly” collection, I created them because I often notice that people neglect boxes. They take so much care of what’s inside, but they just kick the boxes and rip them apart. In the [boxes featured in the exhibition] you can see they have “handle with care” written on them, and I hope people can start appreciating them.

HK: Have you had any difficulties in producing your designs?
DY: Yes. In China it’s hard to find a factory that is willing to produce my designs because they can’t predict the cost. For example, the chairs in the “Fake” series are made up of different parts, and there are many different process involved. [As such], they are unwilling to make them. They want to mass-produce it to lower the cost, but I don’t need that many of them. If it was in Europe, then there would be many workshops willing to produce the chairs—even if we are only making one.

HK: Do you think there are lots of opportunities here in Hong Kong for emerging artists such as yourself?
DY: Yes, at least I hope so. But I feel that people here in Hong Kong are more open to new ideas. In China, people don’t pay that much attention to my work, because they can’t distinguish whether the pieces are art or design. So some art galleries and magazines won’t show my work, as they think it's design, and design magazines won’t show my work, as they consider it to be art. But do we actually need to distinguish between art and design? Hong Kong people are more open and willing to accept my work.

Yang’s works are on view through Jan 9, 2013. See here for more information.