An important point in my art practice is creating a contrast between “beautiful” imagery and negative social issues. The choice of colour in my work should not only create a sense of “aesthetics” but also convey the concept of “ambiguity”. I want the colour in my work to be not too strong; just soft tones. Another point I consider is having a strong contrasts, that is, individually each piece of work is a pair of hideous, powerful and muscular hands, but the work as a whole will become a beautiful flower. I employed pink for this piece because it is a gentle, delicate colour. It can weaken the ferocious posture of the hands, bringing a sense of tension. Also, pink is the most frequently used colour in traditional Chinese flower painting.

 

I think the structure used to display of my work in Unit 2 was not ideal. I used cotton thread and a shelf. I did not take into account the idea that “the line should also be part of the work”. So, in this work, I hoped to find a more appropriate method of display. I spent a lot of time figuring out how to solve this problem. As a first port of call, I did research into artworks that make use of transparent materials. I learnt from Nobuhiro Nakanishi’s ‘Layered Drawings’. This artist takes pictures of forests or clouds over a period of time then reproduces them onto transparent acrylic panels. The installation creates unique interactions between the artwork and the viewer’s individual perceptions. I thought about using Perspex to mount my work, but Perspex is a modern product that did not fit the style of my work. I subsequently began researching ancient Chinese windows and screens; they use wood for the basic structure, which is closer to the traditional world and a suitable material for my work.

 

I made lots of changes during the making process. At first I wanted to make my work look like a Chinese traditional window. This meant I needed to make a big frame around my work, but I felt that my work is very light in both material and colour, and that a big frame might take the focus away from the painting. The concept of “less is more” is an important element of my work. As far as possible, I want to reduce the need for any kind of addition elements further than the painting itself. Simplicity, purity.

 

The theme of this work is pollution. Nowadays, ecological imbalance is becoming more and more serious because of the unreasonable behavior of humans, with population numbers growing step by step, year after year. This slow and steady incremental build up of pollutants and people crowding the world is reflected in the crowding and layering of painted panels in the work. Each work covers the last in a mounting struggle for space.  

In addition to this, I also want my work to be more flexible and more modular in nature. So that each time the work is installed is a little different from the last time. Panels can be added and subtracted as time moves on, shifting and changing the nature of the work, leaving it in a state of uncertainty and flux.

 

I am exploring how I can combine the traditional and non-traditional, how to bring the concerns of contemporary art to traditional Chinese painting. My aim was to translate two-dimensional painting into a three-dimensional work - into a painting that can be seen from all angles. Due to the transparency of silk, the small paintings can be seen through the silk from other sides. This makes the whole work look more rich and layered.

 

I think silk is a very good painting material for me, I will continue to use it in the future to further explore its possibilities. In the making process of the wooden structures, it was a pity that I used a lot of nails. Moving forwards I’d like to try using mortise and tenon joint structures. This is a very old form of wood construction that completely replaces the need for nails. Pieces of wood are connected to one another in a mosaic to make the frame. This form can be traditionally incorporated into every detail, while also simplifying the material. Another area I need to consider improving is content. I don’t want to make paintings that are too realistic; I think the charm of painting is the fact that it’s hand-made, setting it apart from photography. I usually make a drawing first, and then put the silk on the top of the drawing. I then use brushes and pigment to trace very simple shapes, and then remove the drawing. This allows a certain ambiguity to develop in the shapes. I don’t want to control everything in my painting, I build-up indistinct shapes until a clear form emerges.

In this work, I want to make each individual painting look not too much like a hand, and not too much like a flower either. I want the forms to sit just in the middle of the two.