IRINA MENGQI WANG
The first question Irina Mengqi Wang asked me was to picture my favorite memory of a rainy day.
I explored my beloved catalogue of rain-filled moments. Stepping into each for a second, then waving goodbye as I searched. As a pluviophile with nostalgic tendencies, I ponder these memories often and my favorite is ever changing. On this occasion, I selected: swimming with my best friend in the warm ocean of Hawaii, as cold rain drops pelted our heads.
Irina posed this at a gathering for contributors of Austin Matzelle’s art exhibition, Hope You Have A Good Time. A rainy day was the focal point of her piece.
She coded a website, in which the viewer types in their chosen memory. Their text would paint the screen, along with the option of illuminating their words by sound, sight, or both. At first, I was enamored, selfishly, for what this meant for my memory.
But Irina’s creation guided me to think extrospectively.
It showed me to reconsider how I recollect. To zoom out of myself. Offering my words meant they joined a space of cherished memories shared before me and of ones to be shared after me. It was moving alone to relive my experience in a new light, but Irina provided a device for me to try and imagine the memories of others.
Irina creates through coding, photography, and mixed media art. But to her, art is about the act of being creative, her intuition, and serving as a vessel to ignite conversation. As a fresh member to Ego Death’s team, I knew her ethos needed to be heard.
I had to speak with her– to express my adoration for her mind. I quickly discovered that the website merely scratches the surface of how devoted she is to human connection.
In understanding her soul, maybe you can understand yours too.
Welcome to Ego death.
Months after our initial meet, Irina and I spoke over coffee, outside, on a sunny day familiar to us both. I was curious beyond compare to hear her whole life story, but we focused first on her beautiful website.
Irina’s passion for creating tools where people can play with their ideas led her to cultivate Rainy Days. She picked the prompt to be universal but still capable of inciting something new in each participant.
She gleamed while sharing the types of rain she knows. The predictability of Shanghai’s humid, daily droplets. The sweetness in a Beijing summer sprinkle.
I wondered what she considers home.
I would still consider Beijing home, but ideally, for me, I love to move around and I love to experience different lifestyle[s].
For her first 18 years, Irina grew up in Beijing. From there, she has studied in Boston, hopped across Hawaiian islands, and presently lives in Los Angeles.
She recently traveled back to Beijing with a childhood friend, and loves tuning into the city’s special energy. She thrives in its distinctive, city bustle and the juxtapositional rhythm that accompanies it.
When growing up there, Irina felt limited in her schooling and sought out chances to blend her interdisciplinary interests.
A time standing crossroads– to chase security or your dream. Irina voiced gratitude to her parents, who provided support towards her artistic pursuits. They trusted in her decisions, as long as she considered their perspectives and experiential knowledge.
She found a way to nourish both sides of her brain in studying cognitive science and creating art unique to her character. Beyond formal education, Irina continues to feed her curiosity. Attending public research lectures and open dialogue about differences in culture with her friends are common occurrences in her life.
Once Irina moved away from home, she found herself contemplating her worldview through a broader scope. She emphasized to me how invaluable human to human conversation has been in expanding her perspective, and the perspective of others.
Irina feels excitement now living in Los Angeles. She works at DreamWorks Animation, making tools to help stimulate creation in her coworkers. Although she is not immune to the city’s annoyances, Irina is happy amidst the support of a thriving, artistic community. It nurtures her to make art and share it with the world.
I was amazed by how people just create culture. And when they move to places together… they bring all of the traditions with them.
But while Los Angeles will do at the moment, staying put is the furthest thing from her nature.
Irina linked her wanderlust mindset to her parents, who introduced that a change of pace provides incomparable relief. She took to this method of release early on, and naturally through family travel.
To this day, she finds solace from a mentally strenuous state by changing her environment. She’ll take to the road to restore her spirit.
If I feel really stuck… I do spontaneous trips from time to time, to kind of release the pressure and pull myself out and just see myself. To reconnect with myself and then come back again.
To her, travel is more than being somewhere new or relaxing; it is about navigating the unknown and adapting to new surroundings. Irina wears a coat of confidence when stepping into a new place.
She naturally picked up photography on a trip to Australia. Irina started using her family’s camera at eight years old, as a way to encapsulate her feelings from being in a new place.
At 17 years old, she got herself her first camera. They flourished beside each other, as she tinkered with its features to establish her craft. Her photographic process is instinctual, so she cannot be confined to one style. The through line in her photography is the decisive moment.
I turned the dials and formed experiments. I love that feeling because for me, what's being captured in the photo is more important than the technology.
I asked if she sees herself in her work and she gracefully detached from it.
I think it's like something through my eyes, but there's no me in the photo and I want it that way.
We can acknowledge her memory without it framing our perspectives.
The world happens around me, and I’m just capturing what speaks to me. So there’s not much thinking of what I want to capture going in. It’s more experiencing the world. I think the world is full of wonder.
She carefully frames her photographs, so that they are authentic and not disruptive to the world’s natural flow. Irina spotlights the nameless moments that pass us by. Moments that are overshadowed by others more loud and greedy.
My friends always say things like ‘Oh you notice interesting things on the street.’ I feel like that’s part of street photography, and that side of myself. I might have always seen interesting things and I just need a way to capture it.
Irina still plays with bright color, shadows and dimension, accentuating what it means to be in different spaces. Finding comfort in what we do and do not know. Showing the possibility of worlds outside our radius.
I love capturing the world that people don’t usually notice or see.
We looked closer on her people centered street and portrait photography. Recently, she’s been inspired by spotlighting female identity and the empowerment of girls telling the stories of one another.
She explained a particular captivation behind two subject groups: young children and senior individuals.
I love taking portraits of old people and kids. When I travel, I'm amazed how the city just grew on older generations. And, I'm amazed by how children are never affected by the camera.
Another way in which she embraces authenticity– Irina is drawn to the most genuine picture that her lens can capture. I was specifically struck by her pictures of the grandfathers of Beijing. I felt her description intensely. Everyone is a making of their surroundings. You can understand a city by its people and a person by their city. The flow of interdependence.
Irina had mentioned she minored in child studies in college and how she feels the presence of her inner child. Whereas she once felt that she could not share that side of herself, now she sits safely inside her gaze, scattering wonder like confetti wherever she pleases.
I have a lot of imaginations. But I also feel like growing up, I used to have this idea that I have to have a tough side of myself to preserve that side of me. To protect that.
Irina shared fondly on her relationship and dynamic with her baby brother. When she was 18 years old, he was born. Thus, making her a big sister and no longer an only child. She grappled with what her role would look like in his life. As a young adult, she weighed whether she would fill the identity of his sibling, or as another parent.
She did not contemplate this for long. Her parents were prepared and more than happy to raise a child once again.
Irina can securely be a kid again alongside her brother. She values the unique opportunity to shadow her childhood and how she grew up, through him.
Each picture she takes is so intentional, yet accompanied by a story of spontaneity. The planning of her photos comes in the moment she sees the potential shot. She is apprehensive to snap photos right in people’s faces.
I don't really ask for permission[s], but I do tend to feel the vibe a little bit. If people don't want to get their photos taken, I would just respect that and walk away.
Her creations come out of an admiration for understanding people, and wanting to elucidate the same feeling for others. When I asked Irina what affects her, her eyes watered, her voice cracked and she bared her selfless soul.
People affect her. People fighting for their lives. Being true to themselves. Their achievements, their breakthroughs, their passions. She is in awe of what makes people tick. She celebrates the feats of others, never taking dedication lightly.
Her trusted thought, I swear it echoed,
I always see beauty in people.
At the end of the conversation, I felt uplifted and artistically rejuvenated. Feeling a deep appreciation for her soul, I lightheartedly blurted out “I love you.” I blushed with embarrassment and she laughed off the silliness of it with me.
But there was an element of truth there. Our words meant the world to me. That day was already blazing hot, but her positive energy radiated its own heat.
After our interview, we explored the campus at which she listens to research talks. We collaborated on what her photos could look like so they would be the most true to her essence. In between shots, we laughed, pondered, and sweated (really was not exaggerating about the sweltering weather).
When we reached the last photo of my roll, I was touched when she asked for me to join her. But not surprised. That’s just who she is.
I care about human connection. That’s what I try to create with my art.
EGO DEATH
Story // Alyssa Olson
Photos // Alyssa Olson
CONNECT WITH IRINA
