Interviews: Sian Fan

Firstly, please can you introduce yourself using an Instagram filter? This can be any filter and sent in the form of a video.

Meta by danmollerfx.

Although Sian hasn't made any face filters, I felt it would be beneficial to ask her thoughts on them as her work explores technology and the female body. It is interesting how she compares it to advertising, explaining how face filters are a positive way of neutralising the issue due to their increasing use and the creative freedom they bring.

Do you see any issues with the creation of face filters and the increasing use of digital media to distort the way people are seen?

As with all image manipulation, face filters have the potential to distort our images of ourselves and others, which can in turn distort our sense of self, but it’s not really a new thing. The advertising industry have been distorting images for years, in far more manipulative and significantly less transparent ways. If anything, face filters democratise the ability to manipulate images and allow more creative responses that aren’t just set out to reinforce capitalism. 

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Please describe a virtual experience you have had that inspired you. (For example one you experienced in a gallery space, on your computer, in a game, etc.)

The work of Rachel Rossin deeply inspires me, I saw her work The Sky is a Gap in the Zabludowicz Collection last year. It’s a dreamlike series of VR environments in which you control time with your movement. As you move forwards the scene plays through and as you move backwards it rewinds.

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It is interesting that Sian only learnt 3D because she was forced to due to the situation. I think that in general 3D and VR is something that many designers are interested, especially as it grows, becoming a more recognised form of design and something that people want. However due to its technicality, it is quite a commitment to learn as it takes time and skill. Since I have a big interest in it is a valuable to take the time to learn, rather than choose to go to people to develop it. In a way I also was put into this position as I wanted to make something VR and as there was no one who would be able to do it for me, I had to do it myself.

Sian mentions that virtual acts as a strange mirror to physical reality which is similar to what Hanna and Christie have said. It is interesting how they all see virtual reality in this way - as another layer to reality rather than another world completely. I suppose this is how their work is so successful. I think our minds are able to fathom another layer to reality much better than an entirely different reality, so designing with this mindset is a better approach, taking ques from reality to make the virtual world more accepted by the audience.

What led you to using 3D software and creating virtual environments in your practice? Why does this interest you? 

I started working with 3D software when an animator I was collaborating with let me down. He dropped out of a project and I realised I was totally clueless as to what needed to be done. I decided I needed to learn and got started from there. I started creating virtual environments using Unity a few years back, when I decided to create a virtual installation. I’m interested in the virtual as it’s this strange mirror to our physical reality and I enjoy tapping into how the virtual and the physical connect.

Please find an image you have come across online that has stuck with you. (For example a meme, an aesthetic image, a shocking image of reality, a digitally made image, etc.)

This image is by Marie Dommenget and I think it’s sublimely beautiful.

Sian's view on the virtual being manifested everywhere in the physical really intrigued me. I never thought of how the virtual is placed in reality and how much of it we actually see everyday. I think this is a vital thought process when working in this field of design. As well as looking at how the physical world is portrayed through the virtual world, you must look at how the virtual is placed in the physical, with constant reflections upon each other like a games of tennis. How they effect connect and effect each other. I also agree with Sian that the virtual is a vessel for what we experience in the real world as we can only base the virtual off what we have experienced. This is another thought process that should be considered; which experiences should inform the virtual?

What specific place inspires you online?

I use Instagram a lot as a place to find other artists that are inspiring. I also use YouTube which is inspiring because it can teach you new things.

What specific place inspires you in real life?

I find galleries inspiring, but also get inspired just from observing people and the world around me.

Do you see any connections between these places?

Of course! The virtual and the real are innately connected… My MA thesis is actually all about these connections, but briefly I see the virtual manifested everywhere in the physical, and likewise the virtual is just a vessel for what we experience in the ‘real’ world.

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What are your future intentions for your practice?

Within my practice I’m working to combing the body with the virtual via digital performance. I’m working with Real-time motion capture as well as augmented reality as ways of merging the body with technology.

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Sian's response to the question about the gap between the physical and virtual really transformed how I look at the subject matter. Really, there isn't a gap between the physical and virtual because the two intertwine with each other, and where the two meet is what Sian is interested in. In my own practise I will consider looking at where reality and virtual meet and how I can play with this.  

How do you explore the gap between the physical and virtual and why do you think this is important?

I’m not sure I explore the gap between so much, rather the point where the two mediums coalesce. It’s an important space as it pushes the definitions of both states and allows reflection upon their interactions and responses. To me, they are most interesting in this state of tension.  

One of my favourite pieces of work by Sian is the sculpture series that she is currently working on. I think this piece sits at the meeting point of virtual and physical, and shows an interesting way of creating something physical that is also, in a way, virtual. I think this is a good example of what Sian meant by the point where virtual and physical meet.

Please will you show or describe your favourite project you have previously worked on and explain why?

I don’t think I have a favourite, but this is what I’m, working on now:

It’s a series of sculptures that combine photogrammetric textures with UV printing onto Perspex. I then manipulate the plastic with heat to shape them into synthetic lily pad-like structures. Ultimately, they will be part of the set for my motion capture performance, but also function as standalone sculptures that translate a physical object into a virtual one and back again. 

I think it is true that design is struggling to keep up with the rate of change in technology and I think this is due to the lack of knowledge and confidence we have with technology. I think by taking risks with my work through the use of technology and constantly trying new things out, my design will stay innovative and fresh. Hopefully with more designers experimenting with 3D and VR, it will give people more confidence to try these softwares out and more knowledge will be spread.

How do you see the future of design changing with the growing use of different software's and technology?

I think design is really struggling to keep up with the rate of change in tech, but hopefully it will become more proficient and will be able to innovate better. 

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How do you see your own practice changing?

I have no idea!

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Describe a technology or software you wish existed. (For example, I wish smells could be communicated digitally.)

I wish that there was a software that 

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She explains how with the help of digital tools we should be reimagining the real world rather than recreating it, which I completely agree with as have Hanna and Chrtistie. I think it is important to take ques from reality, however these tools can allow us to create anything we think of,  and should not be thrown away by recreating our reality.

When you create digitally, do you create with the intention of it being realistic looking? Do you think it is important for digital media to look 'real'?

Not at all, I think it’s really boring to use digital tools to recreate the real. We should be reimagining the world with the help of digital tools, not making stuff that we already have.

I think as I have chosen to look at those who work with 3D and VR, I expected their answers to being stuck in VR to want to explore. However, Sian stated that she gets a headache after too long, which is very common and even though she experiences this, she still works with it, creating incredible pieces. As of yet I havn't experienced much concern with working with VR apart from aching from my eyes. But the effects of being in VR for long periods of time is something to consider during my practise. 

And finally, what would you do if you got stuck in a VR? Would you choose to find an escape, or explore the virtual world?

I’d have to escape… VR gives me a headache after too long.