Wu Chi-Tsung - Inwardscape

Galerie du Monde is pleased to present the first solo exhibition of work by Taiwanese artist, Wu Chi-Tsung (b. 1981, Taipei, Taiwan), in Hong Kong. The exhibition will run from 16 February to 14 March, 2017. With a passion for the interpretation and production of images, Wu has been working across the mediums of photography, video, and installation, to create artworks which challenge our perceptions of our physical and natural worlds. The upcoming exhibition will present a diverse range of artworks from various series, representing ten years of development in the artist’s work. Brand new works on display will include Wu’s Drapery Studies series (2014-2017), never seen before by the public, as well as recent video works and a large sculpture created specifically for this exhibition. Also on display will be the artist’s renowned Cyanotype works and a large scale, site-specific installation Crystal City 007.

Crystal City 007 (2015), which is regarded as characteristic of the artist’s Crystal City series and was previously shown at the International Ink Art Biennale of Shenzhen in 2016, is the artist’s term for the virtual world which is made up of electronic equipment, networks, programs, media and information. Wu will project a variable shadow cityscape onto the gallery walls: the projection alters the landscape and results in the constant changing of the shapes and shadows of the work.

The new series, Drapery Studies (2014-2017), explores the notions of body, volume and texture, inspired by the drapery of classical Greek and Roman sculpture. In this way, the artist links traditional western art forms to the idealistic and poetic concept of space in oriental culture. Via his work, Wu attempts to study the relationships between materials and techniques. Wu creates the artworks by wrinkling linen, then painting it with multiple layers of rabbit-skin glue and using Gesso to fix the shape, before finally painting it with oil paint or toner. The work is a hybrid of painting, sculpture and installation, which Wu sees as an experimental mix and exploration of techniques used in both Chinese landscape painting and traditional Western art forms. The new series builds on the artist’s Wrinkled Textureseries. The three works on display will be shown to the public for the first time.

Four Cyanotype photographic artworksfrom the artist’s Cyano-Collage series (2016-2017) will be presented as part of the exhibition. This series is inspired by the texturing technique (cun-fa) which is often used in Chinese landscape painting (Shan Shui). The method involves covering the rice paper in a photosensitive solution before continually crumbling it whilst it is exposed to direct sunlight, to create the effect of light and shadow on the paper. The resulting experimental photography montages are re-interpretations of the concept of Chinese landscape painting; the artworks resembling mountain ranges and tumultuous blue seas.

The two videos Landscape in the Mist (2012) and Still Life (2016) show Wu extending his examination of traditional Chinese landscape painting and moving images in an attempt to describe the fluidity of state, intersections, and ambiguities.