Having a love affair with the universe

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Hello everyone, I’m Tsan from MA Painting, today I will introduce you my studio practice. First of all, I’d like to briefly introduce what I’m doing, and then I will talk about my context and three artists who inspired me, after that, I will share my experiences during the making process, the final part is outcomes. I’m happy to answer your question after that~

My studio work explores concepts relating to time, cosmos and traditional Chinese literature. Inspired by the Confucius-Mencius doctrines and Tao Te Ching, I attempt to show the simple but romantic philosophy of ancient people, combine an oriental romantic sensibility with a rigorous research-based approach.

Affected by formalist views, I am fascinated by the indirect and unusual painting method, what I began to realize through studying myself, as well as paying attention to others around me, was that I am a material animal, which means, for me, in terms of create, a new material or medium or method could be the biggest motivation because I’m always looking forward to the limitless possibilities in our daily life.

 

I’ve always been interested in Chinese traditional literature, a book that has a great influence on me is The Classic of Poetry:

I believe all Chinese students here are familiar with it, I start to read this book since I was 10, but recently, to better understand the aesthetic system of ancient China, I focus on this book all over again. The Classic of Poetry is the oldest existing collection of Chinese poetry. It is one of the "Five Classics" the poems in this book shows a kind of living philosophy of ancient Chinese people，expressing their desire to get in touch with nature and the universe. Because of this book, I get to know the concept of romance at an early age, I was inspired by the simple, catchy poems. 

 

Another reference is the book named Tao Te Ching 

”Man takes his law from the Earth; the Earth takes its law from Heaven; 

Heaven takes its law from the Tao. The law of the Tao is it‘s being what it is“（人法地，地法天，天法道，道法自然 ）

Tao te ching， along with the Zhuangzi, is a fundamental text for both philosophical and religious Taoism. It also strongly influenced other schools of Chinese philosophy and religion. Its influence has spread widely outside East Asia and it is among the most translated works in world literature. I reckon this book could represent the common thinking and codes of conduct of most Asians, which may be a resource that I can dive into for a very long time. 

 

There are three main artists informed my practice:

Cai Guo-Qiang's work crosses plenty of mediums including drawing, installation, explosion event, and performance. His explosion art and installations are imbued with a force that transcends the 2D plane to engage with society and nature.

Sky Ladder, 2015, 100 seconds Gunpowder, fuse and helium balloon 500 x 5.5m

His work "Sky Ladder" inspired me a lot, it shows an ambitious dream —a 1,650-foot ladder of fire climbing into the skies, connecting heaven and earth, not only expresses what he felt for his grandmother but also shows a kind of common intention of human that wants to get in touch with the sky.

 

Annie Cattrell

In The Five Senses, 2003, Resin

Annie Cattrell’s practice is often informed by working with specialists in neuroscience, meteorology, engineering, psychiatry and the history of science. This cross-disciplinary approach has enabled her to learn about cutting edge research and in-depth information in these fields. She is particularly interested in the parallels and connections that can be drawn within these approaches in both art and science.

I feel excited about collaborating with people who work in other fields. I am curious about Annie 's way of work--how she collaborates with those scientists? which part of her work involved scientists? In the next term, I will do more research about her figure it out.

 

Katie Paterson

Fossil Necklace, 2013

this necklace comprising 170 fossils ball, she uses this Fossil Necklace charts the development of life on our planet. Katie Paterson was born in Glasgow and now lives and works in Berlin and Scotland. Her artworks make use of sophisticated technologies and specialist expertise to stage intimate, poetic and philosophical engagements between people and their natural environment.

Katie's work shows a peaceful looking but strong inner-emotion, we have a similar theme and I really appreciate her sense of responsibility for the society as an artist.

According to my interests in different materials, I started my test and research in the printmaking studio and made some tests at the beginning of term 1.

 

Experimenting at printmaking space

 

After my project " London Prayer Wheel ", I turned my direction to the receipt paper, I found thermal paper an interesting thing to explore, thermal paper(3) (sometimes referred to as an audit roll) is a special fine paper that is coated with a material formulated to change color when exposed to heat, furthermore, a fingernail swiped quickly across the paper will also generate enough heat from friction to produce a mark.

 

Air freshener, nail remover, sharp objects reacting with thermal paper

 

The study of thermal paper:

once the temperature has risen above 60c, the paper would be colored in a very short time. BUT it can not be reserved for a long time (maximum 10 years)

 

Testing (4p)

29 x 21cm

 

Testing(2)

 

The Random Universe, 126 x 180 cm，Thermal paper,2019

I was inspired by Albert Einstein's famous general theory of relativity, published in 1916, he addressed that “Time and space are inextricable linked，so the warping effect of gravity does not just affect space, but also time. ”

I created this work above a heating plate, imagining each piece of thermal paper as a universe, by folding and bending them, I made a  black and white collage. As you can see, the uneven black color could be the clue, Hinting that the trace of temperature changing, space warping, and time passing, it’s actually more than a 2D work.

I was aiming to awaken the viewer's sense of the dimension they live in, then encourage them to feel the larger universe around themselves.

 

After several tutorial and group seminar with Geraint and classmates, I decided to delve deeper into this project, then I asked my friend who studies chemistry for help, he took me to the Imperial University Chemistry Lab to do some experiments, I tried several different chemicals and, considering stability and safety, finally decided to use ethanol as my pigment.(ethanol is what we usually call alcohol.)

 

The chemical lab, Imperial College London

 

Methanol on heated thermal paper

 

Acetone on heated thermal paper (unstable)

 

Isopropanol on heated thermal paper

 

Hydrochloric acid on heated thermal paper

(red color faded away after 3 minutes)

Suddenly I found something interesting in that lab, Teflon magnet rods. (Teflon is a kind of magnetic stirrer, it’s an everyday tool in a chemical lab, but it was particularly interesting to me.)Then I let the Teflon rods to be the painter, see what will happen on the thermal paper at different speeds.

(video)

 I like to see Teflon spinning on paper, it is rotating due to the scientific principle of this world, but what it doing at that moment is somehow an act of art.

Teflon is working

 

Never or Ever, 21 x 30cm, Thermal paper, Teflon magnet rods, Ethanol,2019

 

This is my latest work named Never or Ever, a series of eight paintings that tell different stages of the universe. Illustrate the progress of “birth-growth-death”. There is a concept in Taoism related to this basic order in the universe.

 

(pic) “道生一，一生二，二生三， 三生万物。The Tao produced One; One produced Two; Two produced Three; Three produced All things.”  

I focus on the Space-time concept from oriental perspective, and I’m trying to show Eastern philosophy and contemporary social issues.

I found that there is a beauty of coincidence between ancient philosophy and modern science, they seem to be opposites, but in fact, they are full of hidden connections.

In the upcoming term, I will continue reading, testing, working with this material. lately, I’ve been thinking of an interactive way in terms of installation, to get the viewer involved, to see what will happen, 

 

 

 

 

 

Bibliography:

1. Chan, Wing-tsit (trans.), 1963, A Source Book in Chinese Philosophy, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

2. The Principle of Relativity: Original Papers by A. Einstein and H. Minkowski, University of Calcutta, 1920, pp. 89-163. https://archive.org/details/principleofrelat00eins/page/n25

3. Thermal paperhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_paper

(4) Nylan, Michael. (Internet Archive Copy) The Five "Confucian" Classics. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2001.

 

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Other references: 

1. Robert G. Henricks, Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching: A Translation of the Startling New Documents Found at Guodian, Columbia University Press (2000)

2. Ellen M. Chen How Taoist Is Heidegger? - 2005 - International Philosophical Quarterly 45 (1):5-19.

3. FORMALISM

Formalism is the study of art based solely on an analysis of its form – the way it is made and what it looks likehttps://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/f/formalism

1. Roald Hoffmann on the Philosophy, Art, and Science of Chemistry.Roald Hoffmann - 2012 - Oxford University Press.