Yang Jie is a sculptor who draws inspiration from the intricate world of objects. From familiar household objects to industrial machines, he is fascinated by how things are made and used, excavating stories and ideas from found objects and machines through the traces of use. Using his background in electronics engineering and sculpture, he reinterprets the human experience through mechanical movements and electronics, transforming repaired and found objects into kinetic sculptures that perform. At the core of his exploration lies a fascination with how objects crafted by human hands often take on new and unexpected meanings beyond their original intentions.
His projects include: Second Lives (2024), a series of found objects given the ability to move and react to its surroundings, as part of Keys under the Sofa, commissioned by the Singapore Art Week 2024; …All the Kings Men (2024), a broken slab of granite stitched back together along Singapore River for a Public Art Initiative, commissioned by the Art House Limited; The Waiting Machine (2020), a solo exhibition of immersive kinetic sculptures at Comma Space, curated by Wang Ruobing; Sensory Anchors (2019), an installation of kinetic sound sculptures commissioned by Esplanade; Instant Citizen (2016), a collaboration with an architectural designer Fiona Tan, to create an installation of furniture and devices which challenge the way we ordinarily use things; the large scale installation ’Can I lend you my Umbrella?’ (2011), a collaboration with video and performance artist, Ezzam Rahman.