Wu Chi-Tsung: Fading Origin
Dates January 18 – March 8, 2025
Venue Sean Kelly Los Angeles, 1357 Highland Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90028

Wu Chi-Tsung’s solo exhibition “Fading Origin” is on view at Sean Kelly, Los Angeles. The exhibition reflects the artist’s profound contemplation of humanity’s transition from the analog to the digital world, exploring how this shift has fundamentally transformed human civilization and our way of life. In light of the current circumstances, the opening reception is postponed. 

The exhibition features an experimental new series, Wrinkled Texture Fading Origin, which investigates the loss of information through the process of reproduction. In this new series, the diptych and quadriptych works begin with a single, full sheet of exposed cyanotype paper, which then becomes the basis for recursive cyanotypes within the same work, with each image serving as the negative for the adjacent sheet. The result is a mesmerizing shift between blue and white tones, where the original image gradually dissipates into a field of color. This process captures the ephemeral and transient qualities of the natural world while emphasizing the slight, irreproducible differences unique to analog processes. Through double-exposure techniques and exploration of faded origins, the series reflects Chi-Tsung’s commitment to advancing the medium while preserving the poetic, tactile qualities of analog photography.

The artist explores the inherent properties of cyanotype photography—the technical foundation of his signature works Cyano-Collage and Wrinkled Texture Series. While cyanotype was once widely used for industrial blueprint reproduction, each successive reproduction gradually loses detail, resembling fading memories, or as the artist describes, “aerial perspective drawn on a timeline.” This imperfect nature of analog reproduction stands in stark contrast to the possibility of perfect replication in the digital world. This exploration broadens the expression of uncontrollability inherited from the spirit of Chinese landscape painting in his cyanotype works, further questioning the profound differences in life experiences and thought patterns between analog and digital generations.

The exhibition also introduces a new site-specific interactive installation, Calligraphy Study, where viewers can write with water-dipped brushes on specially prepared canvases. As the water evaporates, the writing disappears. The work presents the artist’s reflection on “writing in an ephemeral era,” transforming calligraphy into an artistic experience that combines visual and physical sensations. This piece evolved from the artist’s earlier Calligraphy Study series, which debuted at the Hengshan Calligraphy Biennial. Under the biennial’s theme “Era of Principle and No Principle Interwoven,” Wu attempted to transcribe Wang Xizhi’s “Letter of Loss and Confusion” on a modified treadmill. The motion of the treadmill symbolizes the rapid changes in contemporary society, rendering traditional calligraphic practice nearly impossible and highlighting the challenge of meaningful dialogue between brush and paper in our accelerated era.

吳季璁個展：消逝的原件  
日期 2025年1月18日至3月8日
地址 尚凱利畫廊，1357 Highland Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90028

吳季璁正於尚凱利畫廊洛杉磯空間舉辦個展「消逝的原件」，展覽將呈現藝術家對類比世界至數位時代轉變的深刻思考，並探討這種轉變如何徹底改變了人類文明與生活方式。鑑於近期洛杉磯地區災情，開幕酒會將延期舉行。

展覽將呈現實驗性新系列《皴法習作：消逝的原件》，探討複製過程中的訊息耗損。在這個新系列中，單張完整的氰版感光紙被並置為兩個或四個一組的序列，每張影像都作為相鄰張的負片。這個過程在藍白色調之間產生迷人的轉變，原始影像逐漸從中消散。這個過程不僅捕捉了自然現象與生命稍縱即逝的內核，同時也強調了類比工序中那些細微且無法複製的獨特差異。通過雙重曝光技術與對原始影像消逝的探索，這個系列體現了吳季璁在推進媒材發展的同時，也致力於保存類比攝影中詩意與觸感品質的決心。

這件作品亦呈現了藝術家探索氰版攝影的本質的深入——這是他具代表性作品《氰山集》與《皴法習作》的技術基礎。氰版攝影曾廣泛應用於工業藍圖複製，然而在重複複製過程中，每一代作品逐漸失去細節，彷彿被遺忘的記憶，或如藝術家所述，如同「畫在時間軸上的空氣遠近法」。這種類比複製的不完美特質，與數位世界中完美複製的可能性形成鮮明對比。這項探索拓寬了其氰版攝影創作中繼承於山水畫精神的不可控性表達，進一步追問類比與數位世代在生命經驗與思維模式上的深刻差異。

展覽同時推出全新互動裝置《書法習作》，觀眾可使用沾水毛筆在特製畫布上書寫，隨著水分蒸發，筆跡隨之消失。作品呈現了藝術家對「稍縱即逝的時代中的書寫」的思考，將書法轉化為一種結合視覺與身體感的藝術體驗。這件作品發展自藝術家早期的《書法習作》系列，該系列首次於橫山書藝雙年展中展出。在雙年展《法與無法交織的年代－書法作為一種視覺形式》的主題下，吳季璁在改裝的跑步機上進行書法創作，試圖臨摹王羲之的《喪亂帖》。跑步機的運動速度象徵當代社會快速變遷，使傳統書法實踐幾近不可能，凸顯在加速時代中毛筆與紙張難以展開有意義對話的困境。