DIVERGENCE
In recent years, the world of contemporary art has been transformed by the rise of digital technology and the proliferation of new media. At the core of this transformation is how we define the medium of art in the digital age. With the rise of digital media, the line between what constitutes an art object and what constitutes a digital image has become increasingly blurred. My works tend to indicate that the transformation of art in the age of digital media has created new possibilities for expression and distribution but has also led to the degradation of the medium. My works demonstrate a medium transformation from physical particles to digital pixels, which breaks the medium's boundary and explores its materiality. At the same time, it's breaking through the things that restrain people's minds and spirits and leading people to become more independent and unrestricted. The initial medium of the images is the particles of iron fillings, the result is made by the pixels of the photographic print, and the medium is deformed simultaneously, which conjures up a kind of deep relationship conversation within the macro and micro world. This contrasts the presence of physical particles with the presence of pixels in the image field. The monochrome background and composition look like the Specimen arouse people to focus on the subject's form by separating from the context. The uncertainty of the image provokes people to perceive different information, and the subject simultaneously becomes something unfamiliar. The original imagery by magnetic powder can also induce speculation after editing and printing to enhance various readings of the subject. The print is the degradation of the original material. The speculation of magnetic powder also channels the multiple understandings of the image itself. The color of oxidation of metal and bleeding lead to the conversation with the deformation of things, which signifies the degradation of the medium.
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I expanded this concept by exploring the piriformis muscle, inviting viewers to engage with an even less familiar part of the body. This choice challenges typical visceral understanding, emphasizing how we discover new connections through fractured, degraded representations.
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This exploration is deeply personal. Living with piriformis syndrome—a condition causing daily pain and altering my perception of my body—has profoundly influenced my practice. The muscle’s compression of the sciatic nerve embodies the fragility of the body, mirroring the decay of digital images. Through my work, I aim to capture the silent erosion linking the physical and digital, revealing how deterioration shapes our material and perceptual realities.
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In creating new work Untitled #7 , I leaned into my usual practice of crafting images with iron filings and gum Arabic, followed by digital processing. Still, this time I pushed harder, reaching for greater material depth. The mirror became a gateway, inviting viewers into the work and distorting their relationship with it. The mirror blurred the line between reality and unreality, creating a dynamic layer of participation. Its reflective surface didn't just replicate the surroundings—it twisted and degraded them, folding the audience's image into the work's entropy. Reflections inherently carry imperfection, fragmenting and distorting what they copy. In this way, the mirror echoed the piece's central theme: the inevitability of degradation. This layering of degradation extended further. The original piriformis image was set against a pixelated ripple background, emphasizing its transformation within the digital realm. Enlarged pixels added another layer of distortion, each color contributing to the breakdown of the image's clarity. But the decay didn't end with the image itself. These fragments, once part of the whole, were now unrecognizable, their essence degraded into something entirely new. This disintegration mirrored my relationship with my piriformis. Like the fractured fragments, the piriformis is an unseen, underappreciated part of my body, yet its failure reshaped my entire experience of self. On the far right of the installation, the original work—the piriformis—stood intact, the beginning of everything. But by the time it reached the ground on the left, it had undergone a profound transformation, reduced to an insignificant fragment that, paradoxically, brought a significant shift to the entire piece. The multilayered presentation of the organ blurred the boundaries of information and form. The work told a story of entropy and impermanence from the intact piriformis to its scattered remains. It challenged viewers to confront the fragility of the body, the inevitability of decay, and how even the most minor parts of us—when broken—can redefine the whole.
