Ying Ang
- Text by Andrea Kurland
- Photography by Ying Ang
To celebrate Huck 46: The Documentary Photography Special II, our annual celebration of visual storytelling, we are having a Huck website takeover – Shoot Your World – dedicated to the personal stories behind the photographs we love.
In this regular series, Answers On A Postcard, we ask photographers to get existential and respond to a visual q&a with their images.
Fourth up is Australian-born photographer Ying Ang, whose new self-published photobook Gold Coast – which confronts the Pleasantville facade of her childhood home by marrying picket-fence suburban scenes with tales of drug-related crimes – is gaining prime position in bookstores and photo festivals since launching at the NY Art Book Fair on September 28.
Gold Coast, like much of Ying’s documentary work, casts a fine art lens on issues that simmer beneath the surface. After witnessing a murder as a wide-eyed teen, Ying has avoided memories of her childhood home but with this deeply personal project she’s tackling every demon and coming out on top. “It’s about the deep disparities between icons of safety and the knowledge of danger,” she explains.
Answers On A Postcard #4
What does home feel like?
Amorphous and undefinable.
What does faith look like?
Finding your icons and committing to them.
What’s your greatest fear?
This has been the easiest one so far. Intimacy.
What keeps you up at night?
Beaches, bonfires and bourbon will usually do it.
What helps you sleep?
Knowing that these bad b***ches have my back.
What’s the meaning of life?
Making the most of your moment in the sun.
Any vices?
Always trying to catch the impossible.
Ying Ang’s Gold Coast will feature at the Brighton Photo Biennial (October 4 – November 2, 2014), Scan Tarragona, Tarragona ( ) and Scan Tarragona, Barcelona (February 5 – February 27, 2015)
Buy the book directly from Ying Ang’s personal website and read her personal essay in Huck 46: The Documentary Photography Special II.
Latest on Huck
Meet the hair-raised radical women of Berlin’s noise punk scene
Powertool — In his new zine, George Nebieridze captures moments of loud rage and quiet intimacy within the German capital’s female-only bands, while exploring the intersections between music, community and anti-establishment politics.
Written by: Miss Rosen
Amid tensions in Eastern Europe, young Latvians are reviving their country’s folk rhythms
Spaces Between the Beats — The Baltic nation’s ancient melodies have long been a symbol of resistance, but as Russia’s war with Ukraine rages on, new generations of singers and dancers are taking them to the mainstream.
Written by: Jack Styler
Uwade: “I was determined to transcend popular opinion”
What Made Me — In this series, we ask artists and rebels about the about the forces and experiences that shaped who they are. Today, it’s Nigerian-born, South Carolina-raised indie-soul singer Uwade.
Written by: Uwade
Inside the obscured, closeted habitats of Britain’s exotic pets
“I have a few animals...” — For his new series, photographer Jonty Clark went behind closed doors to meet rare animal owners, finding ethical grey areas and close bonds.
Written by: Hannah Bentley
Frazer Clarke: “I had a hole in my leg, I’m very lucky to be alive”
Hard Feelings — For our interview column on masculinity and fatherhood, the Olympic boxing medallist speaks to Robert Kazandjian about hard graft, the fear and triumph of his first fight, and returning to the ring after being stabbed on a night out.
Written by: Robert Kazandjian
Remembering Holly Woodlawn, Andy Warhol muse and trans trailblazer
Love You Madly — A new book explores the actress’s rollercoaster life and story, who helped inspire Lou Reed’s ‘Walk on the Wild Side’.
Written by: Miss Rosen