WILLIAM YE

"I use photography as a medium to explore those social issues that affect me and the people who are close to me, particularly mental health in the LGBT community. Visual art is the most important channel for me to voice my opinions and release my emotional pains in that the non-verbal nature of visual artwork makes it non-intrusive to the audience. I typically work with fabricated reality and performative photography because they give me maximum creative freedom."

William Ye is a portrait and fine art photographer based in Toronto. His work is profoundly inspired by psychology, emotions, and feelings, and he is deeply influenced by contemporary artists and photographers of his generation such as Annie Leibovitz, Erwin Olaf, Julia Hetta, and Jennifer Thoreson (formerly Jennifer Hudson). Ye has tuned his vision and built a unique photographic style which has garnered him international photography recognitions and awards.

“I cannot literally photograph the concepts as they are highly abstract, non-visual and intangible concepts, so instead, I try to photograph the various images associated with these concepts to translate abstract intangibles”

Ye’s work has been exhibited in Paris, Moscow, Tokyo USA and Italy, amongst other locals, and he was the grand prize winner in the non-professional category at the Fine Art Photography Awards (FAPA) in both 2017 and 2018. He is currently pursuing a PhD at University of Toronto.