Hello friends, Bella here! I'm delighted to feature creative force, and a dear friend Yinsey Wang in today's interview!
As a prolific multi-hyphenate pursuing a successful career while exploring numerous creative outlets, including co-founding the annual Enchanted Asian Day movement, Yinsey has always motivated me with her charming personality, boundless energy, exceptional organizational skills, and genuine kindness.
She epitomizes the modern Renaissance woman who consciously balances different passions. I'm thrilled to delve deeper and uncover more about this talented woman's unique path and perspective. Join me as we get to know the clever and creative force that is Yinsey Wang!
Self Portrait with Headpiece by @carbickovacrowns / Dress by @rosesavagebridal
Tell me about yourself and your background, what do you love to do and how did you get started?
I was born and raised in England, with Chinese roots. Growing up in the green suburbs of London, I adored reading and imagining faraway lands, as well as getting crafty with childhood friends. Today, I love making costumes, creating photoshoots with friends and self-portraiture. These hobbies complement and help balance the way that I spend my time, particularly as my day job (being a lawyer) is very different! I actually started getting involved in creating things when I was at university, as a means of staying in touch with my inner child. Looking back, getting creative has helped me overcome many challenges on my personal journey by giving me a form of escapism I can dip into once in a while!
Photography: @lucastorelli / Halo by @carbickovacrowns / Dress by @lacemadeofficial
You have quite an impressive resume as both a lawyer and a creative! Tell me about your journey pursuing these two passions. How do you find time for both?
For my career as a lawyer, it involved rigorous study, honing my concentration for long nights of work, and building resilience. Today, I work in financial services law and in-house for an asset manager, which helps me have a little bit more of a work-life balance than my former life in private practice. It is still a very busy job and requires commitment, problem solving and attention to detail. During the beginning of my career, I did not have as much time for creativity, but over the years, I have tried to work out better mechanisms for managing my time and fitting in such pursuits over the weekends. My husband is also extremely supportive in helping drive me to certain locations and being understanding when I need time to unwind through a creative outlet.
As a lawyer, I have learned quite a few good tips and tricks for arranging my timetables in an efficient manner, and I am pleased I could utilise such skills in my personal life too! For example, I make a habit of using to-do lists and scheduling creative time in advance.
Photography by @bellakotak / Makeup by @mi_inmakeup / Dress by @joanneflemingdesign / Retouched by @solsticeretouch
What inspired you to get into modelling and costume design?
I feel that clothes have the power to transform you into a totally different character. I was quite shy in some parts of my childhood, and I would often be dreaming about what characters I could play. I remember playground games where as kids we would take up traits that we wished that we had when adopting the demeanour of a character, and while reading or writing stories, feeling surges of confidence stepping in the shoes of other imaginary people. Modelling and costume design both help give me a fun excuse to go even further as an adult - I mean, who doesn’t feel powerful in a full set of armour, wielding a sword, or regal and powerful wearing a royally-inspired gown paired with tiara? I started modelling at university, volunteering for photographers here and there, but for costuming, I started quite late. I took up costuming during the pandemic, as I watched a few videos of cosplayers and hobbyist costumes, and I was wowed and wanted to attempt it myself. Certainly, the internet is full of examples of how neuroplastic our brains all really are, which reiterate the point that we can all learn new things at any age.
Self Portrait with Corset and Skirt by Twilight Siren Corsetry
You also capture and share your self portraits. How did this passion come about and have there been any milestones that you’d like to share with us?
I actually got started with self-portraiture during the pandemic. It was a tough time for all of us, and previously, creativity was how I decompressed. So, after doing a wonderful Creative Live course by Bella Kotak and Pratik Naik, I took the dive into using just myself as a subject to make photos. It gave me a sense of confidence that I could try some visual storytelling and given the lockdown restrictions, I could be resourceful in a one-woman team (with the occasional helping hand from my husband!).
It has been an amazing adventure so far, leading me to many collaborations and indeed, some milestones too! Designers actually reached out to lend me pieces and I got to grow my craft. I have found some lovely bits of success to celebrate as well. For example, I have been shortlisted and longlisted for various art prizes, secured publications in various places, including on the Beautiful Bizarre platform and in Enchanted Living Magazine, as well as exhibited at the University of Arts London (via Piece Palette) and more recently, the Leamington Spa photo festival (run by Photiq Gallery)! My work has also been featured on a screen at Times Square, New York, which was absolutely wild and a huge achievement for me.
Self Portrait
I see you've used some of our Photoshop color toning actions before. What drew you to incorporate these actions into your workflow, and have they opened up any new creative possibilities in your work compared to what you could do previously?
As someone who entered self-portraiture in my 30s, I love that the color toning actions created by onlythecurious allow me to speed up the process of trying out different color combinations and trigger me to really think about what I want an image to achieve. What is also helpful is seeing how these actions have been used by other creators, which can get you thinking about what results may be achievable for you as well.
As they are pre-made, but also can be customised, the actions often can help prompt certain ideas about how a direction of an image can go when I am uncertain. Alternatively, where I have an concept in mind already, I often find there’s a toning palette from the actions that fits almost perfectly (requiring just a few tweaks) to the final image. I can easily apply and dis-apply them and change features of these presets through the journey of an image - they sometimes allow me to be braver with my choices as a result too because there is a starting point that gives me so many options. I absolutely love them and they make my editing process so much more fun!
Self Portrait
You've talked about the importance of Asian representation in the fairytale and fantasy genre. Tell us about some of the initiatives that you are part of and what motivates you to be vocal about this topic.
Representation is important because it allows new generations to imagine themselves as agents of their own stories when they see others of similar backgrounds who have carved the way for them. I think that people often underplay the importance of fairytale and fantasy and the impact it has on modern day psyches, for example in how people build stories about their own lives, find relatable models, and their views about a cohesive society. For example, young kids grow up admiring stories of “heroism” and certain values that they aspire to help shape them through their adolescence up until adulthood. It also shapes how we want to present ourselves and celebrate the beauty in our lives. People today still base a lot of their wedding ceremonies on the princess stories they grew up on, as an obvious example. Where people can see themselves in narratives, they can have a sense of empowerment and inspiration for their own journeys. People’s unconscious biases and expectations of others are also framed in big part by media and storytelling within society, and I do believe the childhood stories we grow up with impact that.
Separately, career opportunities may be impacted by a lack of representation in the creative sector. If people cannot see opportunities in the arts and media for people that have relatable stories, then they may feel there are too many barriers to entry.
Photography by @bellakotak / Makeup by @mi_inmakeup
It makes me sad that representation for Asians still is very much lax in the Western world and I feel passionate about contributing to the discussion of how we can bring more Asian creatives to the spotlight and how we can build the representation we wish to see.
To help fill this gap to some extent, I created Enchanted Asian Day alongside Bella Kotak and Lillian Liu, two phenomenal artists I admire tremendously, as well as soul sisters. Enchanted Asian Day is a day which is inspired by Black Fae Day and the day allows us as a community to celebrate creators in the fairytale and fantasy space with Asian heritage. It happens every year on the second Saturday of every June, and we encourage people to share their favourite creatives in such spaces to create awareness, send support and build solidarity. A huge thank you to Ariella who is one of the social media managers of our Enchanted Asian Day instagram account @enchantedasianday !
Photography by @bellakotak / Retouching with @solsticeretouch / Tiara: @mrmortimerswife / Makeup: @mi_inmakeup / Flowers: @safiadesigns / Hair: @nettgray
How has social media impacted your creative journey?
Social media has allowed me to connect with so many amazing collaborators, as well as find audiences for my creative pursuits. I will always be so grateful for those new friendships that seem to have magically fall into place, which has in turn helped inspire me, allow me to learn from others and just feel empowered!
Social media can be a double-edged sword, though, as it can also be somewhat discouraging, for example, when certain projects do not get as engagement and therefore do not get seen by your target audience. I try not to let this impact how I create but realise that social media should not be used as a way to validate the worth of what you create. If you love what you do, keep doing it!
Photographer: @lucastorelli / Dress by @lacemadeofficial / headpiece @hysteriamachine
I see that you’re an avid traveller and love taking part in events within the fairytale and fantasy community. How do these experiences inform your creativity?
Absolutely! I love being able to meet people in the community in different environments and connecting with like-minded creatives. There are a lot of fantasy and/or costuming balls happening around the world, and it is always so fulfilling when you can immerse yourself in such events, making new connections and enjoying beautiful surroundings. These experiences can inform creativity by giving folks a chance to be inspired to create something for these events specifically, as well as meet people that can result in creative exchanges in future. I recently created a feather dress inspired by Rowena Ravenclaw for a dark academia ball, and my friend Mr Mortimer’s Wife lent me a lovely blue gem diadem to complete the look!
Photo by Katie Morrowick and Dress by Yinsey Wang
Do you have a dream photoshoot that you would like to bring to life or be a part of?
I have so many “dream” photoshoots, and definitely, having a horse as a co-model always ranks highly in my mind! To be honest, the best photoshoots are with friends just trying something random out and seeing how our imaginations unwind - I love collaborating with friends on fairytale and fantasy concepts (like Bella Kotak, Minaz Mawjee, Meg Lara, Lillian Liu, Mr Mortimer’s Wife, Netty Gray, Newo Imagery, Tara Florence, Tabitha Boydell, Julie de Moura, Syban and many others) and seeing what happens. Of course, if there’s a grand location or incredible wardrobe involved, even better, but it’s the team work that makes the dream work! During such times, I feel like a child again and it’s pure wholesome joy, I highly recommend working with people who share the same passions as you!
Co-model & photographer @bellakotak / Hair: @nettgray / Headpiece: @mrmortimerswife / Retouching with @solsticeretouch
What advice would you give to other people who are navigating a corporate life and who too are interested in pursuing creative passions on the side?
Go for it! Interestingly, it might benefit your mental health to do something new and if you love it, then even better! A change of environment is great for stress release and helps you tap into different ways of thinking. It does take a bit of planning and reframing your mind to fit creative passions into a hectic schedule (i.e., diarising such pursuits as a form of non-negotiable self-care has been helpful to me!). However, I do feel that once you have spent a day (or even a few hours) doing something creative, you may be pleasantly surprised about how refreshing it can be, and you may even get back to work on a Monday filled with a positive mood and appetite for taking on challenges.
Photographer: @lillianliuphotography / Hair by @nettgray / Makeup by @victorialeanne
Can you share five essential items that you bring with you to photoshoots whenever you model?
- Baby wipes for ease of taking off makeup
- Wellington boots/waterproof shoes in case you are shooting on location in rainy weather (England’s skies can be quite temperamental!)
- Big loose jacket to help changing clothes on location
- Small makeup kit (even if a makeup artist is going to be part of the team, it’s helpful to have foundation I know may complement my skin tone)
- Snacks (as sometimes a shoot day can be really intense and you can get hungry quickly!)
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Yinsey's adventurous spirit and determination to live life to the fullest comes across in both her words and her work. I hope Yinsey's insights on finding balance and being bold inspires all of you like it has me. I have no doubt she will continue dreaming up innovative initiatives that spread more beauty, joy and wonder into the world. Thank you Yinsey for taking the time to share your story and wisdom with us!
Make sure to connect with the magical Yinsey Wang by following her creative life on Instagram and TikTok!
