I am here and yet not here

Kristin NG-Yang arrived in South Africa 25 years ago as an art teacher, teaching art and creating during her spare time.

Now she has reflected on her path and changed trajectory which inspired her to pursue art as a profession and dedicating herself to it on a full-time basis.

Her I Am Here, and Not Here exhibition features 13 works, roughly divided into five different themes touching on a journey as a new arrival in a foreign country, a partner to a terminally ill spouse, a single parent and artist.

She describes the “Studio Series” work as a reflection of her memories of the Centre for Visual Arts at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, a recreation of memories from 20 years ago ‒ both hazy and clear, featuring easels, high stools, donkey easels and printmaking studios, where memories and dreams are reinterpreted through her current artistic language, touching upon those long-forgotten moments.

NG-Yang stresses the central role that her family has played in her life and fondly remembers how she met her late husband Siu-Ah NG who was a lecture at the UKZN Pietermaritzburg campus in 2001.

Their relationship would not last long: two years later (2003) her husband was diagnosed with nasopharyngeal cancer. They married four years to the day they had met (2005) and had a son in 2009 before Siu-Ah NG lost his battle to cancer in 2010.

“During this brief marriage, our love was calm and harmonious, a true soul connection, representing the most harmonious state in our relationship. Of course, the shadow of cancer loomed over us, like a shadow that cannot be shaken off. The series titled ‘Convergence’ specifically expresses this quiet and harmonious life,” she said.

Her husband, a Hong Kong native, came to South Africa around the period when the it was handed over to mainland China.

Another series is “For Yisun” dedicated to her son Siu-Ah NG who was born four years after their wedding, something of a bittersweet memory for the artist.

“We welcomed our long-awaited little angel. Unfortunately, just five days before his second birthday, he lost his father forever. Because of Yisun, I became much stronger. I didn’t want this fragile life to feel lost; I was his entire world. Yisun brought me immense joy, courage, and confidence in life,” Ng-Nyang said.

One of the prominent works is titled “Power” and describes how power can control the actions, decisions and resource allocations of others. Coming from a background with little political tolerance and where the Chinese Community Party is the only organisation known, Ng-Nyang knows the implications of a lot of power.

“Once possessed, it becomes hard to relinquish, ultimately leading to dictatorship. Those who hold power should pursue fairness, guided by responsibility and morality, ensuring that power is used for positive purposes that benefit others and society. In the artwork ‘Power’, there is a chair and an armchair ‒ specifically, half a chair with shadow, along with a side view of a fallen armchair. The abuse of power leads to injustice and corruption, undermines trust, incites conflict, and may even result in organisational decline and a moral decline in society, bringing far-reaching negative consequences,” she said.

Titled “I Am Here, Not Here!”, Ng-Yang says the exhibition serves as a reminder to everyone that no one can exist forever.

“Through this exhibition, I hope to convey to everyone that regardless of race or who holds power, what matters most is our shared hope for a better country, ensuring that our descendants have a brighter future. When we are no longer here, what we leave behind should be a better society and a brighter future,” she concluded.

The exhibition runs until November 24 at the Tatham Art Gallery in Pietermaritzburg.

Independent on Saturday