Artist Profile: Nancy Liang
This is part of a series of interviews with Sugar Glider Digital’s artists, where we explore their practice and perspectives on digital art.
Nancy Liang, The Forgotten Sydney (2016)
“…the ‘traditional’ can also be ongoing and not just something we think about in past…“
When, and why did you start making digital art?
I began dabbling with digital programs when I started my career as an illustrator around 2015. I also loved animation and was mostly interested in hand-made frame-by-frame motion. However, I had no formal training so I started small by making short animated scenes using Photoshop and looking at simple tutorials online.
To practice, many illustrations I made had a moving-image version, often as a GIF. At the time, GIF’s were emerging again and becoming widely popular and used in illustration. I was lucky to be able to ride the wave and apply my budding skills across various creative projects.
How has your digital art practice evolved since you started?
In terms of technique, my practice is mostly the same. I work with a combination of both digital tools (Adobe Photoshop and Premiere) and traditional methods such as collage, drawing and painting. I adore using a collage of processes in my work: mixing old with new and attempting to merge hand-work with the digital that it has now become an area of interest in which I experiment in.
Recently, there is less emphasis of presenting work in a certain style, and more exploration of the creative processes and the potential digital tools have with traditional or hand-made techniques. As such it had led me to ponder: the ‘traditional’ can also be ongoing and not just something we think about in past. However to create a lens for to be understood, perhaps other techniques (present and emerging?) need to be fused with the craft to make it relevant today.
Tell us about your favourite digital art project.
There are so many that I like, so I’ll pick my latest digital project as the memories are still fresh! Recently, I collaborated with writers Kenneth Chan, Angela Buckingham and art director Oliver Clifton to create ‘Family Murmurings’.
The project is inspired by the stories written by Kenneth Chan of growing up as an Australian Chinese in the 1950s and 1960s. It focuses on the ups and downs of one community, concentrating on one extended family. It presented as an exhibition at The Museum of Chinese Australian History (2022) in Melbourne with the artworks drawn together into a virtual reality reel, allowing viewers to explore memory, community, and belonging.
NANCY LIANG, COURTESY OF THE ARTISTWhat would you like to see more of in the digital art world?
To be honest, I’m enjoying the ride as I’m watching it evolve and transform in the art world. But there’s also a small, curious thought - it would be interesting to see it as commonplace among collectors and collections alongside traditional and physical pieces of work one day!
Who are your 3 favourite digital artists at the moment?
My long-time favourites include Takagi Masakatsu and Ryoji Ikeda.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to try making digital art?
If you’re feeling a little lost, take inspiration from roots of your creative practice and bridge from what you know. Don’t feel pressured to lock into a certain trend or start a new program to make digital art (unless you really want to of course!).
In my case, my work is often presented as a digital pieces using the Adobe Suite. However my creative background and training is traditional, so half of my making process are always combined with hand-made methods.
Where can we see more of your work?
On my Behance you can find a more comprehensive timeline of my work. While my website is mostly curated, the ‘News’ and ‘Journal’ section sometimes provide behind-the-scenes and work-in-progress of personal projects and studio life.
Bio
Nancy Liang is an artist currently based in Sydney and Seoul who predominately works with paper and collage. Her projects often explore place and history, and more recently Chinese and Korean folk-culture, mythology and traditional arts and crafts (stemmed from living in both Chinese and Korean households).
She holds a Bachelor of Design (Hons) from the School of Art and Design at The University of New South Wales, (2008 - 2015), and since graduation been practicing as a commercial illustrator with The Jacky Winter Group.
Liang works across a variety of media that includes editorial, advertising and animation and some of her clients include: SBS Australia, The Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences and The Sydney Women's Fund.