HUANG x HSIN
HUANG LIANG-YU
The artist who makes sculptures
HSIN BO-GANG
The friend
pursuing a pharmaceutical career
The last time I saw Huang was around three months ago. During that time, one of the topics we discussed was how difficult it had become to maintain friendships since entering art school. Huang explained that it was challenging to relate to friends outside of the field due to the decreasing common concerns. Moreover, after graduating from Taipei National University of the Arts, he moved back to his hometown of Taichung, making it even harder to meet his university friends. Hence, when I mentioned the project to him, I was not surprised when he said he could not think of a suitable candidate. Therefore, I put the plan on hold and scheduled interviews with other groups. Unexpectedly, a few days later, Huang proactively reached out to me with a candidate in mind—his neighbor, Hsin.
Huang explained that he did not initially think of Hsin because they had not seen each other in a while. When Huang left the neighborhood to pursue his undergraduate education in Taipei, their opportunities to meet were reduced to once a month at most. As neighbors, Hsin has been a constant presence in Huang's life. Interestingly, they did not meet at school but rather on the street or at home. The way they see each other is claimed by Hsin to be different from that of being friends at school: their understanding of each other was continually evolving, rather than a fixed impression from a particular time.
During the interview with Huang, he explained how his learning path has been completely different from Hsin’s. He described how Hsin followed the path of being an elite, starting by attending a prestigious high school and going through the difficulties of pursuing high grades to get into a popular medical school and majoring in pharmacy, and will be facing many challenges in obtaining a professional license. Huang described his own path as having a more "unplanned" future, as he studied art and possesses a less certain future. He also mentioned that during their conversation, he noticed how their different life experiences have created a gap between them in just a few years. On the other hand, Hsin shared his perspective on Huang's transformation. From Hsin's viewpoint, it was natural for Huang to pursue a career in art, considering what he knows about Huang and his family. However, his impression of Huang has shifted from a casual and relaxed image in the past to an image of a "hectic life schedule" and "busyness," as Huang often has to hold exhibitions and frequently travels to Taipei. Despite the changes, both of them described each other as "still very easy to talk to."
The two friends enjoy sharing "interesting and funny" things with each other, and they tend to focus on sharing similar experiences. Since they have different professions, they never go too deep into each other's areas of expertise. They both love watching animation and often discuss it. When Huang talks about his sculptures, he usually shares fun incidents he has encountered, like the "cool" equipment he has used for making sculptures. In response, Hsin would wrap up the conversation before getting into technical details. Thus, Hsin's knowledge of Huang as an artist is limited to "he makes sculptures." Hsin said, "Huang is a professional in art, and I'm afraid I won't be able to keep up with the discussion if we talk too much about the technical parts. I don't know much about art, so we never really talk about it." Seemingly, the two have found a balanced way of getting along as friends.
Review
Huang's art