Gillian is the second iteration of a presentation exploring the variability and complexity of the self. The convergent naming at play, Jillian vs. Gillian, foregrounds how divergent positions of being can coexist simultaneously – lending truth to the dialectics laced within identity, persona and memory.
The title references Yan’s birth-name, and what she referred to herself as in the earliest days of her immigration. This body of work frames her iconic lexicon of stars, roses, question marks, self-portraits and cars, through the lens of her ‘former self’s’ initial exposure to the desperations, brutalities, and ambitions of material and social success in Western culture.
