Name: Yanxi Yu
Year: Sophomore
Hometown: Sichuan, China
Majors: Medicine, Health, and Society and Art
Three Words to Describe Yourself: introspective, curious, and hedonistic
What/Who is the inspiration in your life?
My inspiration always comes from a lot of people because every single person has unique characteristics. I learn from friends and also get inspired by celebrities.
What forms of art interest you?
I think art is very subjective. I am interested in all the resonant artworks. Sometimes, the most important is how I perceive an artwork instead of how the public views it.
Discuss your food-themed writings.
I have published short writings introducing food culture in North America via a social media platform called WeChat. The very first reason I started to do this is that I am interested in the great differences of Asian diets and American ones. I hope more international students like me understand more about food in the U.S.
What do you hope to convey in your photographic works?
Life is short, so why not record it in a beautiful way.
How have your artworks influenced others?
In October, I participated in Guillermo Galindo’s public performance in Nashville, and that was a great opportunity provided by the art department at Vanderbilt. This is the first time I got truly involved in a contemporary sound art performance, which aimed to unearth the forgotten pasts about the history of slaves in Nashville by using various metallic installation to make diverse but rhythmic sounds.
Your International Spirit Has Powered You to:
Be brave to explore any field I am curious about and to take action.
Two Tips for International Students:
1. Believe yourself—studying abroad is never easy but you have already made it.
2. o enjoy your college life and chase your fantastic dream when you are still young.
What are three things you recommend for college students to do:
1. Get enough sleep.
2. Find people you can really talk to.
3. Eat well.