We recently talked to Lily Pearl Yang who shared with us two of her favorite shots and the story behind them. Alongside that during quarantine she curated some FaceTime photoshoots to keep her creativity flowing while stuck in doors.
“This is a photo that today means something more than I could ever start to explain. It's part of a series I created. The couple started out clean, there wasn't any paint on them, but by the end of the photo shoot they were both covered in paint. This had a strong symbolism for the meaning of real love. Whether that be in your romantic life, family, or friendships. It's a story of real relationship and real love. People who truly love you embrace the mess within you, every step of the way. All forms of relationships are never easy. To me this image says: I love you despite the mess. The mess is what makes us human and I believe that it's important for us to fully embrace that in every relationship we have. Especially the one we have with ourselves.”
“Some of my best photos are unexpected. I was on tour with a band called Trophy Eyes. Every night I would watch the crowd and look for the story within it. There was always so much passion within the audience. This photo is my favorite out of all the ones I've taken as a tour photographer. We were in Atlanta at the masquerade. This was during their song "I Can Feel it Calling." I remember taking the photo and having no idea what I just had captured. It wasn't until I was editing later that I saw it. Despite everything that was going on around them, this couple found themselves in their own world within that song. It was something I'll never forget. There were so many special memories during that tour but that one will always be my favorite. Music brings people together despite the things that tear people apart sometimes. It's such a beautiful thing to me and it's why I cherish the photos I took as a tour photographer.”
“Photography creates a story. It doesn’t matter if you have your own camera or if your using the screenshot option on your laptop. We shouldn’t let anything limit us when it comes to telling our stories and sharing our art with the world. I am a storyteller and I want to let people know that their story matters and that they are important. If I get to be a part of capturing that, then what more could I ask for?”
Lily Pearl Yang
is a 25-year-old Asian American queer artist based out of Chicago who focuses on portrait photography, color, and emotion. Moved by faith, hope, love, and light, her work are acts of storytelling and conversation.