Material: Synthetic Pigments、Natural Pigment (Lapis Lazuli、Maya Blue、Moss、Green Earth、Ochre)、Oil and Acrylic on canvas.
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1.
Regarding my use of colors, I have intentionally chosen paint that specifies its pigment composition. This allows me to obtain information of the original ingredients to search for their physical appearances and forms, which I usually find quite beautiful and surprising. Therefore, these discoveries often encourage me to research into the historical and contemporary use of these ingredients (mostly minerals) or their distribution locations. Consequently, I have come into contact with colors that I normally would not pick. The re-arrangement and new understandings of these colors and their composition have enabled me to imagine their use in a way.
As scattered information, minerals are broken up into pigments before the are used and converted into brushstrokes and color blocks on the canvas. To me, the process of painting is no longer the expression of feelings or formal effects through one’s intuition and taste. Instead, it has become the re-organization and re-arrangement of matter and information through the formal language of painting. As these materials and forms change constantly, the charm of the colors is also highlighted during the process.
Painting, in this case, is no longer an instrument of image representation.
2.
The advancement of technology indeed has brought about many new possibilities; and our rediscoveries in nature have also provided means to extend the human lifespan. However, the evolution of human lifespan seems to be slowly moving towards a decline. The two timelines are moving in a conflicting manner.
The bark extracts of both Pacific Yew Tree and Podocarpus nakaii are components to produce anti-cancerous medicine. However, the two species are facing the fate of distinction due to human development of the natural environment. The human race has found means to extend its lifespan from other species; yet, at the same time, many unknown, beneficial species have been disappearing during the process of human development.
In the period of Japanese rule, Podocarpus nakaii was even a common wild species found in huge quantities. Later, as the regions surrounding Sun Moon Lake were developed, the number of the species gradually decreased.
The enchantment of natural plants has always been a lasting motif in painting, especially in Chinese literati painting. The appearances of the aforesaid two species are attractive to me, and the meaning behind their appearances is why I have chosen them as my subject matter.
