An Inspired Chat with Huangxu Yi of river north

We recently had the chance to connect with Huangxu Yi and have shared our conversation below.

Huangxu , really appreciate you sharing your stories and insights with us. The world would have so much more understanding and empathy if we all were a bit more open about our stories and how they have helped shaped our journey and worldview. Let’s jump in with a fun one: Are you walking a path—or wandering?
I’m wandering. My practice begins with walking through forgotten spaces, places that no longer have purpose but still hold memory. I don’t follow a fixed path—I let light, sound, and time lead me. Each step is both search and surrender, a quiet dialogue between myself and what’s left behind.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Hi, I’m Caesar Yi, a multimedia artist based in Chicago. My practice moves between photography, sculpture, and technology-based installations. I’m drawn to themes of time, memory, and the traces people leave behind. Right now, I’m working on a photography project that explores abandoned and forgotten places around Chicago—spaces once filled with life but now standing in silence. Through these images, I try to capture what remains after human presence fades, and how emptiness itself can speak. My work often merges analog film with digital processes, blending precision and emotion. What makes my practice unique is the way I use technology as a poetic tool to reflect on transience and the fragile relationship between people and the spaces they inhabit.

Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. What’s a moment that really shaped how you see the world?
There wasn’t one dramatic event, but a gradual realization—seeing how everything, even what seems permanent, eventually fades. This awareness changed how I create. I began to see photography not as a way to freeze time, but as a way to honor its passing—to recognize impermanence as beauty, not loss.

What have been the defining wounds of your life—and how have you healed them?
One of the defining wounds in my life has been the feeling of disconnection—between places, people, and even time. Moving between cities and cultures, I often felt suspended, like I didn’t fully belong anywhere. Over time, I’ve learned to turn that distance into observation. Through photography, I began to see emptiness not as absence but as space for reflection. Making art became a way to heal—not by filling the void, but by learning to live inside it, to listen to what silence holds.

So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
One of the greatest lies in the art world is equating progress with innovation—as if new technologies or larger platforms automatically endow works with deeper meaning. In truth, meaning often dwells in slowness, in subtle gestures, in things easily overlooked. An obsession with novelty may erase the quiet honesty found in the creative process and experience. I believe the true essence of art lies not in transcending its era, but in being deeply rooted within it.

Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. When do you feel most at peace?
I feel most at peace when I’m wandering without purpose—when I’m not chasing anything, just paying attention. That’s usually when I find the images that stay with me the longest.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.caesaryi.com
• Instagram: caesarlm27