Debris
Inkjet print, Diasec (acrylic, aluminum frame)
2011-2020
The collapse of the Twin Towers in 2001, the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, the March 11 nuclear disaster in Japan in 2011, these catastrophic aftermaths were all broadcasted through the media. The architectural ruins mixed with unrecognizable man-made products were covered in mud slides and dirt. Debris, fragments, scraps formed my impression of the beginning of the 21st century. The title Debris refers to all residuals, mostly man-made, left after disasters. Intuitively, the word serves as a description of the sculptural form in this series; and through this word, I further explore the changing identity of usable and unusable contemporary “objects (products)” in digital and material forms.
I use 3D modelling software to create debris-like 3D models that are virtually functionless in reality, skipping the process of material production and only keeping the computed images. By reorganizing the procedures that constitute a product’s life, including design (start), production (process) and disposal (end), the beginning is rendered no different from the end—“to become useless debris” is essentially the meaning of the production.
While the image looks like a painting, the process of creating the image using the software, on the other hand, resembles the making of a sculpture, even though the final product is only a piece of photographic paper. It records the simulations of various materials and the rendering of light, using the image to render material dematerialized and compressing the body into the 2.5 dimensions. The approach highlights the pureness of 3D software/image as an instrument/material and responds to modern visual experience.
Debris has evolved into several subseries since 2011. To avoid falling into formal inertia, the making of the series has been slow, and I have re-examined the meaning of Debris in every stage.
What I Learn from the Mountain and the Sea
2021
During my two-month stay in Taitung, I visit the mountain and the sea many times. I extract the textures and form of rock, modeled them with photogrammetry, collage virtual and real objects/scenes between the abstract and figurative. The software's algorithm fills broken polygons into discontinue rock model, it looks abrupt but consort, as if it is kind of summation of geometry nature. The composition balances the God's perspective of operating 3D software and the physical experience of standing on one corner of the land. Mix with senses of humidity, agitation, and breeze of winds, as well as the art of landscape that emerge from memories.
In my residency in Taitung, although physically I was comfortable, but it was inevitable that the pressure to learn about the local and produce works did bring me anxiety. Accidentally, the rising of epidemic restricted a lot of activity, my anxiety turn into helpless and eventually “let go.” I pick up my old practice and returned to a certain comfort zone. The works, compared to my original ambition, are not deliberately aggressive nor showing new direction drastically, but the pace of take things slow and build on what you have, is what I learned from the mountain and the sea of Taitung.