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yiting Duan

Yiting Duan

Profile picture of Yiting Duan

Duan Yiting was born in Changsha, China in 1999. She graduated from the Piano Department of the Central Conservatory of Music with a Bachelor's Degree in Piano Performance. After graduation, she developed a strong interest in photography and began to venture into contemporary art as an artist with a wide range of media including photography, performance and moving image.

Yiting's creative themes focus on the central topics of motherhood, identity and marginalised people. In her works, she tries to explore how these themes are presented in daily life and reveal the complexities and metaphors involved.

In Yiting's creative process, she takes photographs of placements and makes photo-sculptures, investigating the ways in which two-dimensional images can be combined with three-dimensional sculptures. Using folded photographs and projection techniques, she transforms static two-dimensional images into three -dimensional sculptures with dynamic visual effects. Through this method, she explores the extension and distortion of images in space in an attempt to break the boundaries of traditional visual narratives.

Yiting also combines two- and three-dimensional art forms to interpret how to express time, space and materiality, and applies the results of this researches to her works.

Through Yiting's practice and research, she hopes to reveal the complexities of motherhood, identity and marginalised people in society and to prompt viewers to think deeply about these themes. She will continue to explore different media and techniques in order to create more visually and thought-provoking works that will propel her forward on the path of artistic creation.

Duan Yiting was born in Changsha, China in 1999. She graduated from the Piano Department of...

Shadow Mothers: 51.49756, -0.13491

2024

Installation, Video, Tableau photography

Shadow Mothers: 51.49756, -0.13491 is an art piece exploring the issues of motherhood, inspired by Andrea MacDonald's book ‘Shadow Mothers’. The work involves altering photographs of my mother and me to simulate a negative film effect, then cutting out the part of my mother, and using light to cast a shadow on the wall, visually representing the absence and presence of the maternal role.

The video section showcases changes in coordinates, with each set of numbers representing the specific latitude and longitude of all nanny agencies in London found by the artist on Google Maps.

The music part is an experimental creation, composed according to the numerical values of the coordinates and performed on the harp.Title 51.49756, -0.13491 Coordinates are on Google Maps It's a nanny agency called Perfect Nanny

The theme of the work revolves around the increasingly prominent role of nannies in contemporary families, and the debate about motherhood ideology between "professional mothers" and professional caregivers. In her book, MacDonald explores the ambiguity of the identities of mothers and nannies and the impact of this ambiguity on family relationships. When nannies replace mothers for extended periods, the sense of distance between children and their mothers—both physical and psychological—becomes apparent. These theories form the core motivation for my artistic exploration of this theme.

Shadow Mothers: 51.49756, -0.13491 invites the audience to reflect on the complexities of motherhood and family relationships through visual communication. 

Final work

Tableau photography

Shadow Mothers: I don't even have a picture with you

Shadow Mothers: 51.49756, -0.13491

The video section showcases changes in coordinates, with each set of numbers representing the specific latitude and longitude of all nanny agencies in London found by the artist on Google Maps.

The music part is an experimental creation, composed according to the numerical values of the coordinates and performed on the harp.Title 51.49756, -0.13491 Coordinates are on Google Maps It's a nanny agency called Perfect Nanny

  • Cutting out the part of my mother, and using light to cast a shadow on the wall.
  • Cutting out the part of my mother, and using light to cast a shadow on the wall.
  • Cutting out the part of my mother, and using light to cast a shadow on the wall.

Research and process

I shared my personal experiences centered around the theme of identity from the first unit, with a particular focus on intensive motherhood. Motherhood and nannies have been recurring themes throughout my upbringing, with nannies often occupying ambiguous roles and positions within the family as a marginalized group. I conducted a brainstorming session to explore and define the nuanced relationships between the three distinct identities of mother, daughter, and nanny.

Nannies are playing increasingly clear roles in contemporary families.

During my adolescence, because my parents could not balance work and family life, nannies almost replaced them. They not only possessed professional knowledge and certain job skills but, more importantly, were able to share the responsibilities of motherhood, providing high-quality companionship to children.

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yiting Duan

Shadow Mothers: 51.49756, -0.13491 2024Installation, Video, Tableau photographyShadow Mothers: 51.49756, -0.13491 is an art piece exploring the issues of motherhood, inspired by Andrea MacDonald's book ‘Shadow Mothers’. The work...

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