Through a new lens
Abstract yet familiar
The idea of finding a new lens to view things that seem over-familiar is at the heart of both exhibitions. For instance, in Awakened by Nature, Shi's paintings of mythological figures and animals have an ephemeral quality to them. They look as if they might disappear into the background, like figures drawn on a sea beach, as soon as the viewer turns their back. The artist says she prefers viewers to take their time over her works, continue to find newer details and meanings in them through prolonged engagement in order to appreciate the fact that "manifestation and disappearance can coexist".
Shi's guideline for viewers applies equally to Li's paintings of the streetlights in her native city of Chongqing. In Li's deft hands, the lights take on the shape of clusters of Bokeh molecules that are, at the same time, part of a larger geometric pattern covering the entire canvas. Highly abstract, and yet eminently recognizable, her works are imbued with a sense of three-dimensionality and movement.
The artist explains that her works are essentially a study of light and its relationship to space. "I think light is one of the most positive things in the world," she adds. "The senses of volume and color that we experience are also gifts of light. If you look closely, the light that seems to dwell on a picture is not completely static."
Trying to arrest the inherent motion in light and put it in a frame sounds incredible, until one sees Li pull it off with aplomb. "When we use the terms light and shade to describe the passage of time, I feel we are actually referring to measuring the lengths of our lives in terms of the interplay of light and shade that we see around us," she says, offering an insight into her artistic philosophy.
