Chelsea Ning

Artist Statement

In my practice, I aim to draw a discourse between me and others who have similar feelings or backgrounds that they can share with me, as it will always be an important topic in my life to ponder: who am I and what makes me myself.

My work is mainly focused on my personal identity and subtle feelings towards surroundings as an Asian female in America who tries to explore and shape part of myself as I grow.

I explore how Isolation, displacement and nostalgia become important feelings for me and why so.

I use different strategies to achieve my way of presenting, including working with photography, video installations, poetry, textiles to create the language that I speak for my artworks.
Specifically, I apply photographs and videos as a way to give context and space of interpretation for the audience. I capture certain parts of the subject matter and put them in a placeless setting. Poetry and textiles sometimes implement my photographic and film based work in other forms, including visual variety, storytelling and giving contexts.
My photographs are soft and sometimes without any focus because I like making images that do not give a comprehensive view of what is happening to my audience, yet giving hints that allow them to discover. Usually, narratives, and ideas are two key crucial elements when I think of making a series of photographs. My work conveys a general idea instead of a very specific one, as I hope that my work can open up possibilities and discussions for my audience.
My art workflow is intended to lead the audience to reflect about their subconsciousness on surroundings, their relationship with people, and to inspire other people who work in creative fields. My photographs of distorted reflections in mirrors suggest that all the environments and representations of ourselves are created and abstract rather than objective. It implies that our perception is the leading part that decides how we feel and what is happening in our mind. In the future, they will still be my main idea and focus for my artwork.

Chelsea Ning

Biography

Chelsea Ning寧楚媛 she/her (b.2001)is a photographer and textile designer currently based in Providence, Rhode Island. Chelsea has her BFA program at Rhode Island School of Design from 2019-2024. She is grappling with subtle feelings based on the ideas of dissonance, self identity, concealment, displacement, isolation and nostalgia in her work. Chelsea has been interested in different ways of media based on visual expressions, including film installations, paintings and prints.

Chelsea’ s photographs are soft and fabricated within lots of narratives. By intentionally erasing parts of the view, she creates a unique perspective by reserving a comprehensive view on what happened, letting the audience find their own ways to connect with the images. Her photographs of distorted reflections in mirrors suggest that all the environments and representations of ourselves are created and abstract rather than objective. It implies that our perception is the leading part that decides how we feel and what is happening in our mind.

Misplaced(series)_2024_inkjet print of photography, 13x19inches