A visual interplay of light and darkness.
YIN & YANG
A love story.
The sun, the moon and the eclipse. An exploration of how opposites may co-exist and give rise to each other.
“On each end were Lovers, The Sun and the Moon, Yin and Yang, Longing to be together, They chase the shadows of each other,And just for a moment the moon passes the sun, And the earth goes dark.”
My approach
In this artwork, it plays around with the concepts of Yin yang, the negative and positive, masculinity and femininity. It is a visual inter-play on the natural balance of opposite energies. Light and darkness, day and night, the sun and the moon, man and woman. It explores how contrary forces may actually be complementary and give rise to each other as they interconnect. Like an undertow in the ocean, every advance is complemented by a retreat, and every rise transforms into a fall. The elements are different and contrasting, but as how light cannot exist without darkness, they depend on the existence of each other. Revealing what was obscured and obscuring what was revealed.
The animations starts from very independent and separated graphics but as they interact they create an explosion of patterns and visual compositions, just as how as Yin&Yan interacts and brings life and death, brining balance on earth.
The movement of the graphics in this artwork is created to mimic lovers longing for each other, but can never meet. Inspired by the Chinese folk tale of YIN & YANG “The Weaver Girl and the Herder”. They chase each other, like the sun and the moon, and if they meet, the earth will go dark, just like an eclipse.
Images
Live
Live Image credit Solomon Quek Jia Liang | YIN&YANG, MAN NTU LED, 15m by 2m, North Spine Plaza NTU Singapore 2017
Explanation in the story (My interpretations)
Like an undertow in the ocean, every advance is complemented by a retreat, and every rise transforms into a fall. The milky-way that separates the lovers in the story ” Weaver Girl and the Herder”, Yin & Yang.
Revealing what was obscured and obscuring what was revealed. The Sun and the Moon.
The balance of Yin & Yang creating life on earth.
The cycle of life and death, day and night and the seasons. The chasing of the lovers in a cycle that never ends.
For one day each year, a bridge is formed for the lovers to meet. The mystical story behind an eclipse.
Version 2
(with Different music)
What is Yin and Yang?
In Chinese philosophy, yin and yang 陰陽 describe how seemingly opposite or contrary forces may actually be complementary, interconnected, and interdependent in the natural world, and how they may give rise to each other as they interrelate to one another.
(for instance, shadow cannot exist without light)
It is believed that whenever one quality reaches its peak, it will naturally begin to transform into the opposite quality: for example, grain that reaches its full height in summer (fully yang) will produce seeds and die back in winter (fully yin) in an endless cycle.
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Yin 陰 or 阴 a negative source/ The Moon Tàiyīn 太陰
Yang 陽 or 阳 a positive source/ The sun Tàiyáng 太陽
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Yin 陰 or 阴, is characterized as slow, soft, yielding, diffuse, cold, wet, and passive; and is associated with water, earth, the moon, femininity, and nighttime.
Yang 陽 or 阳, by contrast, is fast, hard, solid, focused, hot, dry, and active; and is associated with fire, sky, the sun, masculinity and daytime
Legend Says
Legend says that the Yin and Yang are controlled by the constellation of stars known as the Big Dipper in the West or as the Bushel in China.
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Certain mythological events, such as the annual meetings of two divine lovers known as the Weaver Girl and the Herder, represent Yin and Yang coming together in proper unity.
Links to research and inspirations
Research: Link
Styles & Experimentation :Link
Final Style & Animations: Link
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