A Sprinkle of Salt is based on the concept of “reduction.” Both artists, Shi Zhiying and Yang Yongliang, were immersed in the cultural atmosphere of Jiangnan. The two of them contain within themselves a quiet serenity unruffled by the flurry excitement and giddy materialism of the contemporary art scene- an attitude well reflected in both artists’ collection of works. Using their own familiar media such as oil painting, digital art, and video, the two artists from Shanghai adopt grayscale monochrome to express how they interpret the notion of more and less, the reality and the spiritual, and past and future through different angles.
In this exhibition, Shi Zhiying depicts a Taiwan in her mind, with its distinct nature, culture, and people. On the creation of Taro Ball No.2 and Mushroom Meatball, Shi quoted Hou Hsiao Hsien, saying that, “There are fragments of life that cannot be described, categorized, or bestowed significance on, yet you never forget them. To me, these fragments are the ingredients of life, and they always will be.” Her depiction of natural scenes or highly-symbolic images both attempt to see the macrocosmic world with a microcosmic eye. Though she limited the choice of colors to the grayscale, the expression in her paintings is made even stronger. The Sand Ocean series, with the vast and encompassing effect, guide the viewers into a quiet, meditative world.
Yang Yongliang collages numerous images of urban jungles to reinterpret the form and style of ink paintings. As opposed to his earlier work Phantom Landscape, where a sprawling Shanghai cityscape seems to swallow up everything, A Bowl of Taipei series sends out a warmer and tenderer message. Bringing together Song and Yuan aesthetics—the artist’s favorite—and Taipei’s urban landscape, as well as Taiwan’s food culture, Yang trans-locates the mountains in Taipei and places them on porcelain dishware from different periods of Chinese history. Details of the Shanshui, even the clouds in the air, are based on photographs taken by Yang himself in Taipei. On the other hand, Phantom Landscape‧Ximendingcombines digital art techniques and Chinese ink painting landscape, representing the various, energetic, and magical city life in Taipei.
Whereas Shi masks strength and unrest with peace and serenity, Yang hides the modern metropolis beneath picturesque mountains and rivers. By skillfully contrasting different sets of dichotomies without falling into the trap of overstatement—to do yet never overdo—both artists’ works readily embody a classic teaching of the Chinese culinary masters—a sprinkle of salt is all that is needed, anything more and you risk indulgence.
