Filter

 

Acrylic, oil & ink on canvas, 16”x 20”

Filter is a project displaying artistic gaze and meditation of clouds. All three paintings are showing the same object, but in different forms, colors, and textures.

Cloud is an important medium for me to connect with myself since childhood. I gaze at the clouds thinking about life and existence, not only as a single person living with social manners, but also as a human being in the intricate universe constructed of Time and Space. I discover that the clouds, with a constantly changing yet balanced character, represent a tension between the ephemeral human nature and the eternality of mysterious universe. And the gazing manner shows a consciousness of self, of universe, of the tension between them. This consciousness, as Socrates, Descartes, and Immanuel Kant pointed out, is what makes human distinguished from all other existences. In other words, it is the symbol of humanity.

To enhance this idea, I took a modern form “filter” in this project. The clouds were painted with various materials (oil, acrylic, ink) and tools (painting brush, Chinese writing brush, paper towel) to create three different styles, which correspond to three commonly used filters in digital photography: Noir, Chrome, and Metallic. The three paintings seem to display a linear logic of time: Noir the Past, Chrome the Now, and Metallic the Future. However, they also combine the natural content and human engagement with technology concept. It leads to a further rumination about how we are going to sustain humanity in our relations to nature and technology.

Therefore, through gazing we accomplish our humanity, while through filter we examine our humanity.