I have always been fascinated by everything that sweeps and splashes through the world, by events, and by objects brought by human wisdom or ignorance. I work from the phenomena toward knowledge about the nature of things, or Gewu Zhizhi, a concept central in Chinese philosophy since around the 5th-century B.C.E. I look at the sea, the television as an apparatus, the movement of atoms, and the invention of photography. Between the microscopic and the utmost macroscopic, I observe different scales. Observation is essential; painting, then, resembles a continuous refinement of mapping and surveying. Through newspapers, scientific archives, and the internet, I created works of art that act as an archive for our information-overloaded contemporary life.
In DAWN, I explore five recurring themes in my practice: the Anthropocene, the Silicon Age, energy and landform changes, painting as a medium, and my own perspective. Every time I do research and development for each work, I find myself fascinated by the subtle appearance of a link between the feeling of thriving and wonder, reaching higher, and becoming stronger. With the creation of new, more efficient energy sources, the constant alteration of the landscape, the advancement of computing power and information processing speed, the improvement of living and working conditions, the construction of megacities, and the exploration of new frontiers, humans slowly modify their traits and features in pursuit of health, happiness, and strength. Due to this stage of thriving and wonder, we have entered an era of information explosion. It is a time of change and explosion for everyone at present. Throughout technology history, we have been prone to obsessing over one thing while neglecting another.
The developing process for DAWN is filled with new discoveries and inventions that were unique or groundbreaking and sometimes tragic. There may have been some consideration of how this would affect the day to come, but the adjustment may take time, and the next day will bring different challenges. Therefore, it's like hoping for the dawn and the future without knowing whether to be optimistic or pessimistic. In an era when tools are constantly advancing, humans are constantly setting new goals and taking on new challenges. Even though some of the subjects of the works can be seen from an almost apocalyptic angle, I want to focus on the idea of reaching, a sense of hope. When researching and developing DAWN, these thoughts provided me with a lot of guidance and reflection.