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In modern times where artificial light makes the shade nowhere to hide, I still believe that the aesthetics and spirit of the shade are exists, hiding in the dazzling light. I had three solo exhibitions while studying at graduate school in 2022.
“The East of Moonlight” at Tainan's Da Xin Art Museum, uses a matte surface to reduce natural light, so that the process of lighting penetrates into the interior space is once again darkened, and only a small number of lights are projected on the walls, so that the light source in the space can achieve a “subtlety in light”.
The solo exhibition “East Island and the North Sea” at Yiri Arts takes place in a dimly lit underground space where it is covered by a large piece of grey reflective fabric, and the lighting cuts around the pure blue drawings to reflect the transparent blue light to create a “dusk in the darkness” atmosphere.
“| Yáo //” is an exhibition at the Yáo Alternetive Space that opens after midnight. The exhibition space is completely dark, so visitors must use the headlamps provided on site to navigate through it. As the concentrated light beams move with the heads, and are reflected back to visitors by the exhibition's reflective materials, the overall experience and environment create a “blank space for enlightenment and energy”.As opposed to the usual lighting setup in an exhibition, which features spotlights that are uniformly bright and focused on the works, the three exhibitions individually allow light to be balanced and accentuated in a manner that is different from the usual lighting setup. I analysed their lighting design that has very high and low contrast, creating an invisible re-reflection of shade that I call residual “obscurity” after in praise of shadows.
As a method of creating the work, it draws upon the subtle aesthetics of jade, lacquer, porcelain, and the colour of painting in East Asia, as well as the spirit of traditional architecture through the “space” and “room” of the field. With the changing angles of the various models, we are able to see the flow of light in the negative space of the coloured and chromatic surfaces, as well as the state of the coloured light as it rests on the object's surface. However, with the movement of the light source, the results of the colour will be varied, so the outdoor element was then added into the experiment. As the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, the sun's angle of elevation and orientation will have a fixed pattern throughout the year at the spring, summer, autumn and winter equinoxes. For an outdoor area without shade, we have calculated the relationship between natural light and colour light at approximately 25 degrees north latitude in Taipei. The relationship between natural light and colour light is simulated when the installation is placed outdoors without shade. The “object” creations of models, sculptures and installations above are all experiments in which the object is the carrier and the virtual space of light is the main subject.
Finally, the essay returns from three-dimensional to two-dimensional. With the the metaphor of “calligraphy
is the expression of the thought” in East Asian culture, it discuss the space, which is created through the movement of air by painting and calligraphy, on the paper, and the fact that the labor-intensive painting by using ballpoint is actually originates from the East Asian nationality. In comparison with the harvest by the great effort, the major part of it is to regard the pursuit of metaphysical virtues as a role model. The core of the essay is the process of searching for “the light with attitude”, and the creation of various light containers that be considered as media will trigger the viewer’s perceptual system, bringing a perceptual experience, which is similar to the aesthetics of shadow in the culture, from the rational components.
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