Artist's Talk: A Lively Death
In our artist talk led by Geraint on May 9th, we explored the article 'A Lively Death': Contemporary Artistic Conversations with the Still Life Tradition by Isabel Seligman. The article describes how still life, usually unalive or dying, gets a fresh twist artistically, capturing the fleeting moments of life and death.It highlights how modern works preserve the still life tradition by emphasizing themes of decay, transformation, and life's transience. This is illustrated in Taylor-Johnson's depiction of decaying fruit and Brown's portrayal of an oak tree simultaneously growing and decaying. After engaging with this text and examining the artists' paintings, I began to question whether they were using an anthropomorphic technique—employing plants as a medium to reflect human thoughts or societal issues, creating a blurred phenomenon in the form of a strange hybrid. In Margaretha de Heer’s painting, A Red Cabbage, a Snail, a Butterfly, a Dragonfly, a Bee and a Woodlouse, in a Landscape, I see an abstract twisted cabbage, but it seems to have the skeletal form of a human body. I see flesh suffering, as if depicting a symbiotic state of death of all coexisting creatures. I do see some connection between the text and my art practice. My works share a focus on the transformational aspect of nature and life. In addition, they are not just an observation, but a deep, personal engagement with the subject matter, inviting the viewers to look beyond the visible to the underlying currents of existence.
On March 6th of this year, I visited the Affordable Art Fair in London, and Helen Ballardie’s two pieces immediately caught my eyes. They are filled with delicate brushstrokes and rich colors, and the spaces left blank in the composition provide a unique visual enjoyment for the viewers. Her paintings often feature natural landscapes, combining meticulous depictions with abstract elements to create a dreamlike atmosphere.
For example, in the first piece, soft pinks and greens are intertwined. It is not a traditional landscape painting; rather, it uses brushstrokes similar to oil pastels to outline a brilliant flower sea with a touch of childlike innocence. The brushstrokes, though seemingly casual, are intricately arranged, presenting the entire garden’s form.
The second piece is presented in a more abstract manner. Faint red traces resemble an unfinished memory, revealing a passage of time. Each painting is like a silent poem, conveying a subtle sadness and endless hope. The handling of light in the paintings is also very gentle, without excessive details, but the appropriate use of blank spaces adds a lot of depth.
I also want to try incorporating more blank spaces in my own paintings, without emphasizing the details too much. Helen Ballardie’s work has inspired me to explore the balance between the complex and the empty, creating a space where viewers can find their own interpretations and emotional connections. Her art shows me that sometimes, less can indeed be more, and that the power of suggestion can be as compelling as detailed representation.
Helen Ballardie
Li Heidi's works often explore themes of desire, longing, and human emotion, blending semi-abstract and semi-representational styles. Her pieces are distinguished by their bold, vibrant colors, creating a dreamlike atmosphere. These colors enhance the visual impact and convey the intricate layers of emotion. Human torsos and limbs frequently appear in her paintings, rendered ambiguously, often transparent and blurred like phantoms, evoking a sense of transience. Heidi's style marries sensuality with provocation, allowing her to explore repressed desires and emotions freely. Having seen her works multiple times at Art Basel, I am impressed by her meticulous detail and subtle elements beneath the abstract expressions. Her treatment of lines and highlights in depicting figures particularly resonates with me.
Additional Contexts
Studio Drift
Studio Drift is an art studio I've been following for the last two years, and most of their installations combine nature and technology. Fragile Future, a sculpture series containing dandelion seeds picked and glued by hand one by one to LED lights. I was very intrigued by this body of works, showing the fragile aesthetics of dandelions and nature's complex technical presentation. In this May, I have visited a sculptural exhibition When Forms Come Alive at Hayward Gallery in London, and their work Shylight was exhibited there - a group of flower-shape lanterns that are constantly opening and closing, moving up and down in a staggered pattern to each other, and blooming in the air in a poetic dance.
Inspired by the biological clock of flowers, this installation opens and closes with a rhythm of life like in day and night. I also looked into this work from different perspectives, which brought me completely different feelings. Peaceful, sacred and exquisite was how I felt when I saw this work. It was responding and communicating to human, and I couldn't help but be transported into a mysterious, quiet atmosphere of nature. "Natural movements remind the body of how to adapt and align with our environment," said by Lonneke Gordijn on the description tag, who leads Studio Drift with partner Ralph Nauta. This is not only a work of art, but it also explores how the application of neurotechnology to art and technology can serve to heal the physical and mental health of human beings. And the exquisite natural imagery, and spiritual healing power of this kind of work is a topic I would like to extend in my future creations.
Gregory Crewdson is another artist I look into. His photographs, taken in natural settings without artificial lighting or staging, possess a raw natural beauty. The light from the fireflies forms delicate specks in the darkness, capturing their nocturnal dance. These lights create abstract patterns or chain-like flickering shadows, evoking a spiritual journey that connects with the highlights and plants in my paintings. Crewdson’s use of black-and-white film enhances the contrast between light and dark, making the fireflies' glow more pronounced and giving the images an eternal quality.
