A Quiet Box Series 2013
Why are some photos caught our attention to know the underlying stories while others just been ignored?
When I was reading a book written by Elizabeth Peyton, Live Forever: Elizabeth Peyton, among all the photos pinned to her studio wall, a particular one caught my eyes. It was a photo of a bewitching bouquet. The white starry flowers were beautifully interspersed that makes a stunning eye catching display. Later I figured it was a photo from the funeral of Princess Diana. Then I started to think about the weight of photos and the details.
The details of a photo would reveal its story and be able to trigger a certain kind of intellectual emotion.
Following this way of thinking, I started a series of work about the weight of image. There are three series so far: “The detail of a news photo from the funeral of Princess Diana”, “The quiet box” and “Photoreceptor”.
The images used in “The quiet box” were collected from the Atomic bomb testing by the US Department of Defense during WWII. They recorded a house located in a remote desert that was destroyed by an atomic bomb in just a few seconds. This sudden explosion of a house was depicted into six panels which slowly revealed a sense of uneasiness.
Another series “Photoreceptor” would like to express that every hidden truth will eventually surface, no matter how hard you try to cover it up. The moment when light passes through the water glasses on the witness stand, reflecting off the courtroom lightings and camera flashes, somehow symbolizes that the victory of human conscience and integrity.
為什麼有些圖像會特別吸引我們去探索背後的事情而有些照片卻水過無痕？
我在Elizabeth Peyton的作品集Live Forever：Elizabeth Peyton中看到一張有關其工作室的照片，在照片中，我看見牆壁上張貼著很多不同的照片，在其中一張相片中，我看見一束花，那是一束如同星星般發亮的白花，充滿著魅力。 後來查明那是一張有關英國前王妃戴安娜出殯時的圖片。這件事引領我思考圖像的重量。
我認為圖像會把背後的事情透過細節透露出來，令我們感受到一種知性的情緒(Intellectual Emotion)。
基於這個想法，我開始了一個有關影像重量的系列。這個系列主要有三組作品，包括「戴安娜出殯新聞照局部」、「白盒子」與「感光體」。
「白盒子」是一批來自美國國防部的實驗照片，呈現一間在荒漠地區為實驗而建造的房子，在瞬間中被原子彈摧毀的過程。房子與原子彈的關係透露著二次世界後期美國強權掘起及日本的關係。把瞬間的爆炸定格為六張作品，以慢播的手法呈現連綿的不安。
在另一組作品「感光體」中，三幅畫作描述著三組杯子，圖像來自我到德國紐倫堡國際軍事法庭參觀有關二戰紐倫堡審判時拍下的照片。這些杯子放置在講台上，供證人發言時飲用。這些杯子被法庭上的燈光及記者的鎂光燈照射得閃閃發光。對我而言，這些杯子透露著人類相信的普世價值。
A quiet box series
白盒子
2013
Oil on linen
91.5 x 116 cm each