Substitute for Sorrow
2017 - 2018
In this series Substitute for Sorrow an emphasis has been placed on heritage: specifically in reference to Chinese painting (Pinyin: ‘shuǐ mò huà’). By exploring the traditional medium of ink wash painting, this series employs radical techniques, such as using an atomiser to deliver ink stains instead of a traditional brush. This approach re-imagines time-honoured landscape paintings (Pinyin: ‘shan shuǐ’, meaning ‘mountain-water’), challenging conventional notions of Chinese representational art. Multiple viewpoints and negative space play critical compositional roles.
Marbled Plexiglas atop compressed Xuan paper infused with ink droplets creates a sense of depth, enhanced by the three-dimensionality of shadows formed by the paper's folds and grooves and the varying intensity of ink stains. This abstraction allows the mind to conjure imaginary depictions, evoking Chinese scholars’ rocks, the scenery of the Lijiang River in Xingping, Guilin, or conceptual geological formations. These works embody scaled-down representations of the landscape of the mind, alluding to an alternative painted reality.
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As side note: These works were partly inspired by Henryk Górecki's Symphony No. 3 – “Symphony of Sorrowful Songs”. The symphonic yearning is reflected in the somnolent and contemplative nature of these visually monotonic works.