Debut solo show

9th November 2023 - 18th January 2024
PM/AM Gallery, 37 Eastcastle Street, London, W1W 8DR

In the tapestry of fate a glimmer beckoned in the shadows, a sword ablaze with icy light. With a whispering breeze the young androgyne approached, aflame with purpose, and grasped the blade. "A knight", it whispered, as if destiny's decree. With fiery zeal they stood, their spirit soaring, envisioning the blade's triumph over darkness. Time, that silent navigator of destiny's tides, revealed the weight of the sword, the armour melded to his life. "Knight" became their essence. When the wind rose, the young knight would recall the ethereal dream, their spirit untethered, their form liberated from the weight of armour, fleeting and free once more. Yet in their life, unbeknownst to them, fate had silently etched its toll into every choice. - Yage Guo

 

The Sword suite in tarot links to thought, intellect, beliefs, attitudes, and consciousness, aligning with the elusive element of air and embodying an unseen yet forceful, masculine energy. Yage's inspiration is rooted in the essence of the Swords, her engagement weaving itself into the exhibition's construction. As A.E. Waite once said, "The true tarot is symbolism; it speaks no other language and offers no other signs." 

 

Within these paintings Yage sketches the young androgynous knight from her written prologue, presenting a series of narratives that symbolically depict a person's connection with the self, objects, and the external world. The knight's story opens contemplation on themes of individualism, romanticism and queerness. The show is grouped into three sections: The Beginning, The Present, and The Future, each embodied by one of three flower paintings. Chrysanthemum Dreams, an inception akin to Lin Daiyu's prophecy in the Chinese novel Dream of the Red Chamber, foretells an allegory of one's own fantastical emotions, steeped in prophetic echoes. The Striped Carnation marks the present, a juncture to gaze back upon, an ode to an anonymous love tale. The Fig symbolises the obscured future, distinct from other blossoms, hinting at maturity.

 

Across this body of work various elements move in and out of focus - objects of importance, characters, locations that could represent psychological states as much as geographical places. Aligning these is a notion of human transformation, of the body and the spirit. In the work The Performance of A Knight, a figure emerges, their identity and basic personal narrative held at a distance. When embodying a role an individual's persona becomes fragmented, their portrayal of a character shaped by societal empowerment and definition.

 

The numerous layers of Yage’s work are abounded here. The young figure is fragile yet passionate. They are adorned with symbols of power and perseverance: armour for protection, a sword for assertion, further unveiling a corner of Yage’s imaginative world. We can lean into the framework of this mythical person to recall our own life experiences, and those of others. We too face challenges, we too waved the sword to cut off the thorns. Overcoming them is adaptation, growth and understanding the hardships that this entails - for muscle to build it first has to break. 

 

The figure contemplating this is of non-binary gender, and their armour is reconstructed with the features of ancient male and female armour designs. It appears flowing, its metallic undulation akin to a dress caught in a strong breeze. The ambiguity of the androgynous figure aligns with Yage's aesthetic preferences, drawing from her fascination for 80s and 90s Japanese Shojo manga. The artwork challenges the patriarchal gaze on gender classification, inviting a fantastical embrace of the notions of "femininity" and "masculinity".

 

Fantasy bridges the historical to now, to the modern day. Recognising the visual tropes of history within the increasing complications of life in the present, Yage works across these interlocking territories, bringing the ageless symbols of one into the fervent contemporaneity of another. An hourglass appears to depict the passage or perhaps this blending of time. In the blue tranquil space of Contemplation we witness a solitary youth caught in a calm, inward observation under the moon, surrounded by morning glories. Vines weave their way out of an arched structure towards the sky, an emancipation. This is a solitary moment of self-reflection and significant self-transition. The show finishes with empty armour left in the grip of vines, the young knight departed from their present role, perhaps towards an ultimate destiny.

 

From youth to adulthood, we transform. From vulnerable children we become towering, intelligent adults, collecting experiences and overcoming obstacles. Our sense of self multiplies, the spiritual and astral counterparts activating themselves. What centrally characterises Yage’s paintings is an honest depiction of the sentiments and experiences of these developments, their contrasting moments of fear and doubt; of euphoria and exultation. 

Text written by Daniel Mackenzie