The suffering caused by feeling like an outcast drives media artist Sammy Chien. To minimize this feeling for future generations, he keeps his fingers in many collaborative pots. Chien deals with the context of migration in social, historical, political and cultural perspectives. His goal is to inspire the kids/youth/younger generations who are growing and developing their personalities, social values and finding their dreams/goals.
Taiwan-born Chien is a Vancouver-based media artist/filmmaker who visits different cities across the world, engaging with the local culture and community and exploring them in the context of migration and in relationship to movement and/or contemporary art.
“For me, in a way, I see [these projects] as an opportunity for us to find ways to bridge the gaps in between our cultures and our contemporary society, with artistic practice and research,” says Chien, who seeks to merge cinema, sound art, new media and dance performance techniques into a new individual practice.
Breaking down stereotypes
Sammy Chien and Ai Weiwei give the finger to injustice. | Photo courtesy of Sammy Chien
Alongside his art work, Chien has been involved in research, collaborations or mentorship in projects that focus on the integration between art, science and technology as well as engaging with the local community.
Recently, he worked on a youth education workshop/project with MachineNoisy in Revelstoke, who he also worked with at 2012’s Queer Arts Festival. The platform is for youth who are finding their identity.
“We want to let them know that it’s okay to think differently, to look different, be different from others. It’s a very fun project for me: to get to inspire younger kids to bring interactive/new media technology into our creative process,” he says.
He works with the queer scene and many cultural/ethnic events. He feels extremely lucky to have the skill set and ideas to work with this group. He’s able to identify with them. As a teenager, he moved to a small town in Nova Scotia after living in New Mexico for a year.
“As a visible minority, it wasn’t easy at all! I faced lots of a racism and cultural ignorance daily,” says Chien.
The experience made him want to prove he had more to offer than those conservative/mainstream stereotypes applied to him.
“I think we’ve suffered enough from it. I know how it feels to be the minority. To be pushed out of the norm; to feel left out; to be the outcast; to be considered as aliens; strange, odd, no matter in what level – could range from a super obvious/direct to a very subtle/unconscious polite level … but they can do a lot of damages to your psyche, your soul – your mental wellbeing as well,” says Chien.
Philosophy through art
Chien’s awareness of his surroundings gives him lots of things to think about every day, whether good or bad.
“I think about how to change it; improve it; how to eliminate these negative impacts, influences and bad impetus that’s destroying the ideal society, ideal humanity, ideal world,” he says.
His constant thinking could explain why he is interested in so many themes and expresses those thoughts.
“In some way, I’m not intentionally and actively constructing anything. In some way, I’m always training, meditating and practicing to make the world a better place,” says Chien.
Chien was teaching a workshop when his brother, Shang-Han Chien, mentioned they could finally do more than just make art for themselves, but also contribute to society and help people with their art.
“That’s very true, and it’s a really great feeling. It’s a feeling that’s not just satisfaction (especially contentment to one’s ego),” says Chien. “It is a great, positive and bright feeling that felt larger than me. Larger than who we are. This value felt that it surpasses any of the personal value we had in the past.”
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