White Shadows

By Tianli Zu

White Shadows comprises seven hand-cut pieces of acetate film painted on one side. Installed in the gallery space horizontally, the work casts multiple layers of shadows through multiple animation projections from different directions.

My work conceals and reveals the spontaneous movement of the shadow: a metaphorical and illusive form that whilst ungraspable and obscure, can stimulate questioning, emotions and a wide range of interpretations.

It reveals the power of the shadow by exposing the shadows of stains, bleeding, viruses, overgrowth and violence, which spatially expand into the gallery space. The seemingly beautiful objects shock viewers upon close examination. The work unmasks a sense of restlessness, anxiety, doubt, rage, contradiction and refusal.

For the first time, I have introduced colour into my shadow works by painting the gallery walls in wine red, which carries various historical, intellectual and psychological meanings.

The repetition of an ironic graphic unfolds the inseparable relationship between shadow and light, and the intertwining of yin and yang.

The way I work is both sensual and conscious of control. When I intuitively cut through the surface, I experience a sense of ‘killing’; simultaneously, I give ‘birth’. Based on personal experiences, I create art to engage with social problems: each cut sheds some light, exposing what people in society confront each day. 

White Shadows – decay and death – begin the wander, become free and return to life.

White Shadows was exhibited at three artists exhibition
IN POSSIBLE WORLDS
19 APRIL – 8 JUNE 2013
http://www.4a.com.au/in-possible-worlds/