Shuai Yang

How Much Is It No.1 is an instruction to Yang's method of using herself as the measurement. This drawing employs three elements from the subject: the measured existence, the measuring instrument, and the measurand (the result of measurement represented by Arabic numbers, imperial, and converted metric units here). This piece is made with a giveaway museum frame, which was passed to her by a friend. Yang based her mediation on the existing dimensions and indicated the width of the framed image ground with a pencil line. The line is labeled with written numbers "27 11/16 inches" and "70.32625 centimeters", results gained from measuring with a wooden ruler she bought in a convenience store. Yang fixed the ruler underneath the measurand and drew a diagram at the bottom of the page displaying her body being measured without indicating any final product. The palm-size diagram pinpoints the act of measuring a body and, due to its physical size, suggests the representativeness of scale in image-making. Importantly, this drawing marks a milestone in Yang's investigation of knowledge and reality.

Carrying a black and white minimal look, How Much Is It No.2 is also mediated upon a giveaway frame. This time, Yang removed the protective glass, covered the mat board with the gallery's wall paint, and drew two parallel pencil lines across the framed area. The lower line stays as is, while a hardware store-bought metal ruler is placed on the upper line, emphasizing the act of measuring. The metal ruler is a reference for informational comparison, and it assigns a value to the line and (less directly) passes around the value system to its nearby elements.