I interviewed Ann Woo because her work at one point, was very outside of what I woud consider interesting. For some reason I just googled her until I found something where she spoke about herself and her photography. It has been a year since then and I have definitely expanded my point of view. I see through different eyes and her work helped me do that. I ended up contacting her and she gave me some really thoughtful answers. I hope you like it.
We are constantly in a process of self criticism and self doubt. How do you navigate through that?
I find it hard to make a specific point here. Instead, I have noticed that I spent most of those times alone in the past and reflecting constantly on my own thoughts and feelings. I tried not to judge whether these thoughts and feelings were right or wrong, but I would think very hard on why and how these thoughts came about. I believe that the world is infinite, as is knowledge. There are simply no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ answers and therefore ‘self criticism’ or ‘self doubt’ can seem too negative. I think that if our minds were empty to begin with (no definitions of what I am or how I should be), why would we need to criticize but not to observe?
‘Rainbow’, 11″x14″
What is your process? Do you create and plan specifically, or more organically.
I do create plans but they rarely work – sometimes because my feelings have changed or I have caught myself trying to justify a false thought. But other times, I would look at or think about certain things over and over again, almost in an obsessive way. I would photograph these things as a response, and again try to trace back later on where these impulses came from, how they are consistent with my self, my concerns, and my understanding of the world. Observing and analyzing these impulses or instincts objectively has eventually become a process for me to understand my own relationship to the environment through my works.
‘Sunset, Green’, 11″x14″
You mentioned in your interview with nymphoto, that your sunset series deals with your frustration with the photographic process and its representation of truths and our perception of what is real. How do you see your portraits functioning along side these? Do you approach these subjects similarly?
I would say my portraits can reflect a disbelief in pre-determined meanings of photographs. I photograph people who I simply find interesting to look at. My beliefs of fluidity in things and the world makes the eternality of photographs seems too untrustworthy as explanations of their subjects. I am somehow frustrated with this fact, therefore, maybe the result is a tension between passion and static looks that can be found in my works.
‘Abiah’, 11″x14″
Do you still work in commercial photography? How do you support your personal work?
Yes I still work in commercial photography. I started fine art photography two years ago and have invested a large amount of money on it. I am glad that my fine art work has started to pay off. In fact, I enjoy commercial work and wouldn’t mind doing it anyways, especially now since it is still supporting my living and my fine art work. However, my plan is to cut down commercial clients eventually and focus solely on making my own work.
‘Cave’, 11″x14″
What are you working on now?
I am raising funds for my up-coming projects. Although tough, I am still hopeful about it.
Ann Woo was born and raised in Hong Kong. Woo studied at the ICP in 2007. Her work has been the subject of numerous group exhibitions, including “Now: Art in the 21st Century at Phillips de Pury & Company,” New York, as well as a two person exhibition at NADA Art Fair 2009, Miami. Her work has been featured in various publications including Vice, Pin-up, and Marilyn Magzine, Monthly Photography (South Korea), and recently in Lay Flat. Currently, her works are included in three group exhibitions, “31 Women in Art Photography,” curated by Charlotte Cotton and Jon Feinstein of Humble Arts Foundtion, “.Matrix” at the Philadelphia Photo Arts Center, and “The Silence of God, The Unbearable Silence of God” at Reference Art Gallery. Woo’s work is permanently held in the Zabludowicz and Tischman Speyer Art Collections. She lives and works in New York, and is represened by amani olu.
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