The Spectacular Captures of Xuan Hui Ng
Image © Xuan Hui Ng
I was very excited to have a Q & A With Xuan Hui Ng about her beautiful photography and her magical timing of capturing a scene in camera. I fell in love with her work when she had a show at the Griffin Museum of Photography back in December and I featured her here in my newsletter. I have followed her ever since and was able to join her in learning in her workshop at Santa Fe Workshops in August online. She was live zooming from Tokyo and we dove into her art and what inspires her, which includes nature and weather. I couldn't wait to learn more about her and bring her to you in this newsletter.
All Images © Xuan Hui Ng
"Nature has been pivotal to my own healing and growth. I dedicate my images to kindred spirits, the weary, the lost and the lonesome. I hope that they can experience the joy I felt when I laid my eyes on these magical landscapes" - Xuan Hui Ng
Below begins the chat we had together.
L: Where are you from? How does it affect your photography today?
X: I am from Singapore and have been living in Japan for the past 15 years. I grew up watching a lot of period dramas from Hong Kong and Mainland China. I danced ballet as a child and read a lot of fairytales. As I grew older, I fell in love with mystery novels that had twists and turns and plots that were not obvious. When I started college in the US, I fell in love with Monet’s “Impression, Sunrise” while shopping for a poster for my dormitory room. It led me to read up about him and other painters’ work including Renoir, Chagall.
I think these early influences and preferences permeated through my work unconsciously at first but now I pursue them a little more consciously.
L: What is your favourite time of day to create?
X: My favorite time of the day is early morning. That’s when some of the magical natural phenomena like mist, diamond dust, dew occur.
L: What motivates you to create?
X: I love immersing myself in nature. It’s beautiful and peaceful. Photographing it helps to preserve that moment of serenity and also eternalizes the fleeting scenes that I have been so lucky to witness.
L: Tell me a little about your recent work and the mediums you use.
X: My images are all single-exposure photographs made in camera. I don’t do multiple exposure in camera or composites in Photoshop but I admire and follow many artists who do use those techniques. The light bubbles in this set of images here are snow bugs. Snow bugs have transparent wings and white fluff on their black bodies. They are known as the harbingers of snow because typically 10 days after they appear in great numbers, the first snow of the season falls. They flicker in the sunlight, resembling snow. I suspect that’s how they got their names. I first chanced upon them in 2019 and have been pursuing them every autumn since.
L: How do you develop an idea from beginning to end?
X: I typically chance upon ideas when I’m photographing. Sometimes, the images made then don’t end up working but the idea does. So, I’ll make a mental note and keep a lookout for conditions that will let me better execute the idea in the future.
L: Do you have a favorite color? How does it show up in your work?
X: My favorite color is blue so I’m always really excited when it’s winter. When I was very young, I liked pink. Photographing cherry blossoms has brought that color back into my life.
L: What has been your favorite place to travel and how has it inspired your work.
X: My favorite place is Central Hokkaido. I’m based in Tokyo but have been renting an apartment there since 2020, right around when Covid started. Spending time in nature and photographing have made me a happier and calmer person. Studies show that nature and even images of nature can provide symptom relief, lower stress levels, and reduce depression and anxiety. To this day, I find my spirits lifting every time the plane approaches Asahikawa Airport in Central Hokkaido and vast expanses of nature appear before my eyes.
L: How do you make yourself happy in your art today?
X: Going out to photograph in nature makes me happy so that’s my “happy fix”. I remind myself to take it easy and not impose any expectations on what I want to photograph. That takes off the pressure. It’s important to simply enjoy nature and enjoy photographing.
Another thing is it’s easy to fall into the trap of wanting to please the audience. We are all shaped by our experiences and have different likes and dislikes. It’s impossible to make everyone happy. Of course, if many people dislike a particular image, it’s important to know why. The opposite applies too. Image critique / portfolio reviews can be considered a test of our convictions. It’s important to keep an open mind and listen to feedback. However, we must not take it too personally and feel any lesser about ourselves. We will naturally be disappointed by negative feedback but we need pick ourselves back up and “live to fight another day”. In other words, stay positive and enjoy learning ☺
Below:
L: What are your goals for your future work?
X: I would like to make a book at some point. Also, I want to keep evolving as an artist. I haven’t figured out how exactly yet ;) I’ll just to figure it out as I go ☺
L: What artists inspire you?
X: Painters: Marc Chagall, Monet, Renoir, Judith Beeby, Li Huayi, Goto Sumio,
Book Artists: Miho Kajioka, Paul Cupido, Margaret Lansink, Susan kae Grant
Photographers / Arists: too many to name…
L: What do you want to say with your art?
X: Photographing nature has made me realize that every encounter with nature, as it is with human beings, is once in a lifetime, and cannot be replicated even when the seasons repeat. As climate change advances, some of these natural phenomena like diamond dust and sun pillars may disappear completely some day while admittedly others like insects and hurricanes may flourish. I hope that my images can prompt people to be a little bit kinder towards the environment so that these photographs will not be a mere record of their once brilliance.
In addition, nature has been pivotal to my own healing. It has given me perspective, hope and joy. With so much going on in the world, now more than ever, we need to alleviate the stress in our lives and heal. I hope these photographs of the natural world will provide a brief reprieve from life’s harsh realities, by reminding us of the beauty in all things delicate and fierce.
L: What is your favorite film?
X: Dracula: Dead and Loving it
L: What is your favorite sweet treat?
X: Warabi mochi (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warabimochi)
L: What is your favorite song to sing in the car?
X: One of Rachael Yamagata’s songs
In Xuan's Words... "Initially, the urge to photograph stemmed from an almost desperate desire to prolong the serenity that nature brought. Over time, I began to enjoy simply being in the embrace of the forests, lakes and meadows. The Chinese idiom “天时地利人和” speaks to the importance of fortuitous timing (天时), favorable conditions (地利) and the human resolve (人和) to our endeavors. I think this is especially true for my photography because my images are a collaborative effort with nature."
All Images are © Xuan Hui Ng
Visit her website for workshops and art.
https://www.xuanhuing.com
Instagram: @Xuanhui_ng
Gallery Representation: Koslov Larsen Gallery (Houston, USA)
https://koslovlarsen.gallery
