2012.01.07, Qiáng, Fotan [Fotanian Open Studios 2012]
In “Flux”, the threads compose drawings of horizontal lines on two wooden panels and the lines undulate in the space between, suggesting the transitory present is continually changing. The text, “All of this has happened before, and it will all happen again” printed on the panel is the first line of Walt Disneys film Peter Pan. It links to the concept which posits that time is recurring; time as being, not linear but cyclical. The two wooden panels suggest the past and the future, fixed and immutable – in the sense of this eternal play of repetition as defined in the text. The pale blue colour of the threads refers to the purity and age of centuries-old glaciers where time is confined. This piece can be viewed as a mind map gathering the artists thoughts around the idea of time.
2012.03.02, Southsite, Tin Wan [Why Do Trees Grow till the End?]
Painted with oil on wood, the works depict two views overlooking a blooming kapok tree under the flurry snow. While the former is seen through a transparent window curtain of silk, the latter shows the curtain hanging open, revealing the shadow of the kapok tree above and a brick wall in the middle, gently covered under 4mm of unperturbed snow.
The reappearing presence of the kapok tree and its juxtaposition with the faint trail of white polka dot pattern in “Untitled (4mm Snow)” together recreates a paradoxical realm that would eventually play its way to the quoted text of Xie Huilian’s Rhapsody on Snow seen in Untitled (Snow). “The text is one of the most eloquent description ever written in Chinese literature on the imagery of snow; from describing its movement to its symbol of purity. In a way, I want to use my work to illustrate this naivety that is beyond one’s judgment of virtue.” (Text by Piper K.)
