STATEMENT OF WORK

Xingyun Wang — Artist Statement

               I apply pigmented glue to layer thin sheets of paper onto thick watercolor paper, crafting a textured surface. Working on the floor, pushing the paper when wet and moving the glue around, is a tactile process of drawing with bodily and material contingencies. The interplay between thin and thick papers creates a stratified texture of semi-opaque layers, conjuring images of: engulfing floods, the remnants of landscape in ruins, skin, and scars. Mounting the work on the wall, I then accumulate small marks with other materials, weaving together a narrative and psychologically charged landscape comprised of multiple viewpoints and perspectives.

               The subdued tones in the work hint at peril and the aftermath of calamitous events. Paint drips, perforated holes, paper sanded away barely hanging on, strands of embedded hair, and glass flakes in the eyes are among elements in these landscapes. In every recess of the depicted space, danger appears to linger, instilling a profound sense of powerlessness in response to the tumultuous forces at play.

               However, amid the depicted realm of powerlessness, there is the sinew of resistance. Perspectives and scales shift, revealing that a mist of color, initially a shadow of a mountain, becomes the face of a woman when viewed from a distance, patiently waiting and gazing back from this immersive scale. Here, a body or an imprint of a body dwells in the space. The scarlet marks, in their evocative presence, hint at more than mere skin-deep wounds and scars. The marks signify incisions of the eyes, where the gaze becomes the most poignant cut upon the skin. These eyes have witnessed and documented everything, the flood, the chaos, and the noise, incarnating a silent yet resilient force within the narrative.

               Coming of age as a queer woman in an environment where queerness must be veiled, I gleaned abundant lessons in fear and helplessness, yet scant insight into resistance. For me, painting is a means of recording and paper emerged as a stirring metaphor, embodying a delicate yet robust and adaptable essence. I can tear it, cut it, sand it, wash it, punch holes in it, and still, it perseveres, maintaining its form and meticulously chronicling all histories and transformations. Layers of paper veiled on top, yet the base layer is still present opaquely. In the realm of paper, memories endure, and the material itself becomes a testament to resilience. Paper remembers.