2004 - 2005 Artist Statement
“You
gazed past ailing trees,
past
crumbling walls and rusty railings...”
-Shu Ting
Living
on this earth constantly reminds us that while we are surrounded by beauty, both
natural and humankind’s artistic creations, everything is in a constant state
of breaking down or deterioration. This
is echoed in our very own bodies eventually shutting down and coming to an end
and it is mirrored even in each day drawing to a close – the sun setting, and
our side of the earth, once teeming with activity and light, being enveloped in
darkness.
Since
2004, my work has explored the transient beauty of nature and architectural
elements through the means of painting. I
worked with colours that evoked feelings of quietness, mystery, moodiness,
melancholy, or even mourning. I
focused on ideas of fading light, the atmosphere of night and the ephemeral,
while still attempting to show a romantic beauty and nostalgia of a time past.
Even night itself can be seen as ephemeral, whether one thinks of the
light of the next day quenching it, or the larger picture, according to the
Christian faith, when it will ultimately be daytime for eternity (Revelation
21:23-25). There are also
‘subplots’ within my work of accessible paths and passageways leading to
unknown destinations, as well as barriers (fences, railings, etc.) making
certain paths inaccessible.
For
this particular group of works, most of the oil paintings are done in glazes,
and while some areas are built up with many layers, other areas you can see
right down to the underpainting. This
gives the paintings a greater sense of depth and draws the viewer in.
I endeavored to create subtleties in my work so that as the viewer looks
closer, more is revealed to him that he did not notice before.
I also worked a bit with encaustics, which allowed me to work more
loosely and abstracted. I was able to explore the same notions as above and to focus
on the mood while not being so rigidly tied down to the detail of
representational painting.