I have always been interested in the sentiments and fragments of life that are unable to be completely expressed with words, such as the images that flash by or the scenery scattered throughout our daily lives, or the emotions evoked by changes in time. We are still unable to feel the same sensations merely from their description, no matter how much of its experience is shared. These small, ineffable moments strewn throughout our memory constantly emerge. By transforming them into images, we can produce memories that are intertwined with our environment by continuously excavating the self and groups.
The images residing within people’s memories are residues from their continuous life experiences, while pictures serve as the isolated appearance of a disconnected moment of time… When we believe a picture is meaningful, we usually provide it with a past and a future. By bestowing a past and future upon the detached and disconnected moment of a photo, we situate it within a continuous context of time to conceive a particular meaning. [1]
I searched for a beautiful piece of scenery for the work by using images from my own memory as a source of inspiration. As I restructured and released the images in my memory, I also saved any images that could serve as elements in my work. After the work is completed via reconstructed memories, the frequently appearing elements, such as lakes (water) and shadows, are dismantled one by one from the surface of the artwork. By reading the repetitive elements of the picture, I attempt to delve deeper into the heart of creation.
From the content and images of the work, the creative method can be observed. The authentic elements of nature and the scenery of the painting are made through the multiple pressing of single prints, which present individually construed images one by one. As I was conceiving this work, I drew simple lines across a wooden board, while gazing and touching it. This tactile process allowed me to enter a state of tranquil concentration. During the production process, the thickness of the ink allowed the innate characteristics of the wood grain to appear. Through reversed engraving patterns, the woodcut letterpress exhibits the original color tone of skin, which demonstrates its intense vitality.
The images of substances and memories reside between reality and virtuality - they cannot be replaced by anyone or anything. The physical environment of the world is constantly changing. In a process of backtracking, the internal perceptions and records of past sentiments within memories are extracted again following similar experiences or objects. The images captured from memory are pieced together to complete the artwork. Then, by watching similar scenes, a link between the work and memory is evoked. This is also the part of my inner landscape that I continue to view even to this day.
[1]By John Berger and Jean Mohr, translated by Chang Shih-Lun, Another Way of Telling, Taipei, Cite Publishing Ltd., 2009, p. 94.