In collaboration with PASSIONS, VOICE OF ASIA is proud to present timeless articles from the archives, reproduced digitally for your reading pleasure. Originally published in PASSIONS Volume 44 in 2011, we present this story on Yang Yuan Xing, and a snapshot of his work.
Pavilion Kuala Lumpur, in conjunction with the Ministry of Tourism Malaysia’s ‘1Malaysia Contemporary Arts Tourism Festival’, invited China’s foremost photographer, Yang Yuan Xing to put up his selected works for sale as a fundraising initiative for the National Autism Society of Malaysia (NASOM). PASSIONS had a chance to interview this masterful scenic photographer of 50 years experience, who has travelled the world capturing its essence with each click of his shutter.
A Solo Exhibition
Officially launched by Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen, the Minister of Tourism on the 13th of July, the exhibition titled ‘Global Footprints: A Photography Exhibition by Yang Yuan Xing’ was opened to the public for two days at the Pavilion Kuala Lumpur. Even before it was launched that evening, Joyce Yap, CEO-Retail of Pavilion Kuala Lumpur, had been getting calls from prospective buyers to purchase Yang’s works. Some buyers, in a show of support for this charitable event, placed their orders even before setting their eyes on the works. With the original photographs’ prices ranging from RM8,000 to RM15,000. Yap added that they expected to raise a minimum RM50,000 for NASOM from the exhibition.
Judging from the 69-year-old Yang’s photographs, his work portrays an unmistakable passion for life and the natural world. Furthermore, his dislike for scenes of desolation is evident from all of his vibrant works. His favourite subjects, other than nature’s scenery, consist of the elderly, children and minority groups. They are surrounded by an array of vivid colours that complement their heartening and cheerful expressions. True to its literal sense, The “Global Footprints” exhibition showcases his captivating visual journey through 60 picturesque photos, revealing a colourful and lively world that glows with magnificent beauty, ranging from China’s outskirts, Alaska in the United States and Canada.
Early Passion
Yang first developed his passion for photography when his father brought back a camera from Europe when he was 13 years old. Graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering from the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Engineering Institute, he went on to do various odd jobs like working in a factory, the military and involving himself in sales. However, he relished working as the manager of a travel agency as it allowed him to pin down his next travel destination with ease. In the 1990s, after retiring at 60, he hit the road and travelled through forty five American states in his car – a feat he recalls with much pride.
Yang’s standard cameras are the Canon Mark III DS EOS-1 and Hasselbald H4D. However, according to him, the best shot depends more on technique and less on the camera, and while he surprisingly maintains that he is artistically deficient, we can only guess from the quality of his work, that this photographer, with his engineering background, must rely heavily on precise and practical methods of photography. As a scenic photographer, his main source of lighting depends on none other than the mighty sun. His techniques include taking advantage of both the mornings and the evenings, thus avoiding the high-noon sun for that fleeting shot of the panorama.
Visual Philosophy
Behind each piece of stunning photography was a message carrying much gravity. Speaking in Mandarin, he said, “Life is short. So when you are still able to move, you should travel more so as to witness more, as there is too much beauty in this world which you have never seen. Furthermore, as there are many landscapes that have been tarnished by human activity, I’ve learnt from my experiences, that we really need to take care of our precious Earth,” Illustrating this point, he added, “There was once when I took a picture of a river in western China, the next time I visited that place with my friend, part of the river had dried up. I could never have taken a second picture of it again.”
Yang Yuan Xing hopes Malaysian audiences will be motivated to travel to western China, instead of the more popular Beijing and Shanghai, after viewing the landscape pictures in the exhibition. Summing up with unrestrained passion for his work, he added, “Climbing to the top of a mountain and stumbling upon what you never expected to witness, fills me with such joy when I capture it on film.”
