{"id":102429,"date":"2020-11-20T16:41:01","date_gmt":"2020-11-20T15:41:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conceptualfinearts.com\/cfa\/?p=102429"},"modified":"2020-11-26T15:52:24","modified_gmt":"2020-11-26T14:52:24","slug":"ambiguity-of-time-and-space-in-wang-zhibos-painting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conceptualfinearts.com\/cfa\/2020\/11\/20\/ambiguity-of-time-and-space-in-wang-zhibos-painting\/","title":{"rendered":"Ambiguity of time and space in Wang Zhibo’s painting"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Wang Zhibo paintings are puzzling. They make people ponder and wonder, drawing them to think and imagine, while feeling a bit confused. The surreal juxtaposition of objects and body parts in her paintings is on one hand almost disturbing, but harmonious on the other\u2014 urging one to search for meaning or links among those seemingly random subjects, as well as their hints on the ambiguous time and space. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \u2018anthropologist\u2019 approach<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Wang Zhibo once stated that one of her working methods is similar to that of an anthropologist. When asked why, she replied: “In my imagination, digging up clay artefacts from primitive tribes in some part of the world can be in some ways similar to me walking into a vintage store in Berlin to discover a tooth-brushing cup without any trademarks or origin. If one of the anthropologist’s working methods is field study, then it seems there are even more mysterious and unknown corners on the internet; and these not-yet-solved enigmas are exactly the starting points of my work.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Wang
Wang Zhibo, Untitled, 200 x 115 cm, oil on linen, 2018. Courtesy of the artist and Edouard Malingue Gallery.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We do not know if all anthropologists like this comparison, but one can appreciate the emphasis of this approach on the act of observing, exploring, discovering, collecting and investigating. The clay artefacts are as important for an anthropologist as images are for an artist like Wang Zhibo. She explains: “I am curious about the power of images in conserving and transmitting messages\u2026 And then in the painting process, the power of these images may disappear or transform into an explosion of passionate light and colours; and this stage of transformation should be regarded as the power of painting.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Performing these “anthropologist’s acts” through travelling as well as learning from pictures and words found on the Internet and books, the artist later combines these findings with elements from her daily life. “I believe that the traces and details of daily life are as central to the system of human culture as the original social tools, ornamentations and architectural styles researched by anthropologists. Most important is the relationship between these traces and details, which can be traced meaningfully in time and space, where time refers to the past and now, and space refers to the here and elsewhere.” Wang Zhibo once noted [1]. Yes, time and space is the main field of study of this anthropologist-minded artist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Distortion of time and space<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

More accurately, the distortion of time and space is the main thread that runs through Wang Zhibo\u2019s art. In Untitled (Springs)<\/em> (2012), artificial fountain structures are placed in a natural landscape. A part of tropical forest in Rise, Fall<\/em> (2016) is juxtaposed onto some white and grey shades in the background, resembling snow mountain while planet-like spheres are falling. One can also see feet and fruits unsettlingly put together in the composition of Untitled<\/em> (2018). Wang Zhibo claims: “I try to explore the tangibility and complexity with the distortion of time and space.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n