Species series (2009–Present)

Species series presents a group of unknown beings that appear to live within human territories. The project emerges from Yang's interest in how life is defined, how we distinguish living from nonliving beings, and how classification systems such as animal taxonomy shape our understanding of what counts as life. It also engages with the possibilities and ethical questions surrounding machine life.

The beings in this series take forms that echo the discarded materials and forgotten objects scattered throughout the city. Although Yang creates these entities, he positions himself as an observer or researcher rather than a creator, documenting, studying, and preserving them through videos, drawings, sketches, and specimen-style displays.

Species series asks what life is, how we recognize or fail to recognize other forms of being, and how our interactions change depending on whether we determine something to be alive.