"Chronicles: Summer 2019 - Summer 2020"
Selected works belong to the Chronicles project I worked on from summer 2019 to summer 2020. It registers - in the realm of my feelings and dreams - the transition from the world marked by massive global social protests to the world of the pandemic. In 2019, people of more than 45 countries of our globe took over the streets to express discontent and filled it with dreams for political, social, economic, or environmental changes. The pandemic year 2020 brought changes that nobody could predict. Its long-term impact on the increasingly complex, interwoven reality is still to be seen; it deconstructed our lives but also re-evaluated and brought new dreams.
The whole body of work is made of different kinds of xuan papers transformed through traditional printmaking and cutting, splitting, tearing, layering, and assembling. As the primary medium, I use a folding fan (printed form), which on the one hand, is one of the most stereotyped objects of Asian cultures, and on the other, can be a powerful object of engagement and communication. I see it as Barthes's sign-function that's essence does not indicate an everyday-use object but signifies something, and I explore its evocative and symbolic potential.
Xuan paper is a type of handmade paper with a smooth surface known for its excellent ink-absorbing ability. It is light, white, fine, soft, and thin. It is made in a long multi-step process involving drying raw rice straw and different kinds of tree bark (for example, blue sandalwood, mulberry, bamboo).
It is traditionally used for calligraphy and painting. It has a reputation for lasting for thousand years as it is resistant to corrosion and mold.
