TOP Go to the main content section

Taipei Travel

LIN Yen Wei

Anchor point

Post date:2023-03-16

Updates:2023-03-16

566

LIN Yen Wei
Event Time
Tuesday -Saturday 11:00 ~ 19:00
Event Location
B1, No. 88, Yanchang Rd., Xinyi Dist., Taipei City Taiwan, R.O.C
Born in Pingtung in 1987, LIN Yen Wei received his MFA in art education and creation from the National Hsinchu University of Education. He currently lives and works in Hsinchu. This solo exhibition presents a range of works created since 2019. Apart from the continuation of his ongoing series Just Like The Way You Are and Plaything Study, the subject matter of his recent works has become more organic and life-oriented, such as man-made buildings or plaster statues. Despite the shift to new subject matters, LIN remains committed to the nucleus of his work: the matching or conflicting relationship between the color tone of a photograph and the material of the object. "Whether it is architecture, landscape, statues, miniature toys, or daily life scenes, posed or random, the photos that surround us have a life trajectory. I just incorporate this trajectory into my works."

In the Plaything Study series, LIN first poses miniature toys before "retelling" them through the painting process, transforming them into entities that evoke a completely different set of emotions. On view at this exhibition, See You Again #4 depicts an old taxidermy on display at Hsinchu Zoo, seen through a glass; and Is It You No. 3 comes from a moment when he walked through a home decor store and snapped a photo of its interior decorations with his mobile phone, which included a porcelain rooster figurine with its beak slightly open. LIN is drawn to objects that evoke ambiguity and emotions, whether they are fleeting moments glimpsed in passing or perceived through the barrier of glass, with the lines between reality and virtuality blurred. "Photos taken through glass have a distinct color block-esque and spatial image quality. And I enjoy using painting to downplay this image-centric quality," he explains.Regardless of the light source—natural light, lamps, or artificial light—LIN's images are infused with a feeling of continuity across time. Rabbit, a painting portraying a rabbit-shaped nightlight, emits a distinctive peculiar atmosphere.

Gazebo and Snail-2 are based on cement sculptures found in parks and farms. Gazebo comes from an image LIN captured in low light but with the flashlight on, resulting in a high-chromatic effect that enhances the monotonous yet vivid color of the gazebo. Willow Branch draws inspiration from the willow branch held by the bodhisattva Guanyin, but with the weeping willow transformed into an upright plant. The painting retains the artificial, unnatural appearance of the painted surface of the metal material that mimics the weeping willow.

LIN's works are characterized by a strong element of artificiality, whether he is painting landscapes, taxidermy, or plastic toys. Through photography, he captures a moment in time where the object's life appears to come to a standstill. He then extends this sense of time through painting, creating a surreal tension between artificial objects, photography, and the criticality of painting.

Related Links

Gallery

Recent activities

More Events
Top