Between the Pines, Awakening, Stood Still, and Alone by Rex Yau
Located on the arrival level at the bottom of the center escalators, a series of black-and-white photographs by Rex Yau offers travelers a quiet visual pause as they move through the terminal.
The collection includes Between the Pines, Awakening, Stood Still, and Alone. Each image is rooted in a strong sense of place, from tall pine trees stretching toward the sky to quiet architectural spaces and open landscapes. Yau travels through GSO often and has the opportunity to photograph locations around the world. However, capturing images in the Triad, a place he called home for more than a decade, allows him to revisit familiar spaces and see them in new ways.
Light plays a central role in his work. In black-and-white photography, the quality of light shapes the image. Photographing locally gives him the chance to return when conditions are right, whether it is early morning fog or late afternoon light filtering through buildings. Shooting in black and white highlights texture, structure, and composition.
Yau studied architecture at Cornell University and UNC Charlotte, and that training shows his understanding of space, structure, and composition. He has worked with well-known design firms and contributed to projects exhibited at institutions such as the Guggenheim Museum in New York City. Yau also works as a filmmaker and cinematographer, and that experience carries into his photography through strong framing and careful composition.
He began photographing in the 1990s and continues to value the slower pace of analog photography. Shooting on film with a technical camera requires patience and intention. Developing his own film, he describes, is one of the purest forms of photography. While travel often inspires new work, Yau believes there is beauty in familiar places if we take the time to look closely.
As you pass through the arrival level, take a moment to view these photographs near the center escalators.
Explore more art throughout the terminal with PTI’s Art Walking Tour.
