Still Life 012 – Buttercup Tree and Still Life 014 – Yellow Mai Flower, both acquired by Santa Barbara Museum of Art, are now on view in the group exhibition Mediated Nature of the museum till December. In an exhibition review in Santa Barbara Independent, it is stated that  the works have “challenged our media consumption habits at a different level.”  “Chi-Tsung enacts a faux-pas in an entertainment landscape where plants are mere mute extras meant to signify exoticism. His shots linger on a stationary plant for more than six minutes. In his work, the medium of video is camouflaged as painting. Although celebrating the mundane can be an oversubscribed concept, the elaborate care in Chi-Tsung’s work — the crispness of the colors, the subtle mist-like atmosphere enveloping the plants — bends time. The viewer wonders, ‘Have I been watching this flower for six minutes or 20’? When the medium changes, so does the message. Chi-Tsung’s “Still Life 012 — Buttercup Tree” carves new depths within our experience of mundanity. A shivering leaf becomes a noteworthy event, and mist traveling slowly along a plant’s wet roots becomes an erotic experience.” 吳季璁的兩件錄像作品《小品之十二 彎子木》和《小品之十四 黃梅》被美國聖塔巴巴拉美術館收藏，並將於美術館群展《媒介化的自然》中展出至十二月。當地媒體《Santa Barbara Independent》對該展覽的展評稱《小品》系列影像作品從不同角度挑戰了人們的媒介使用習慣。 「他戲謔般地設置出了一個人工造景，身處其中的植物不過是無聲渲染著東方情懷的臨時演員，鏡頭就這樣在靜止的植物上停留了六分鐘有餘。在這間作品中，影像媒介被偽裝成了繪畫。雖然作品也許並未刻意落腳於對於平凡的讚美，但是其中卻充滿著精緻的細節，那清晰的色彩、籠罩著植物的氤氳煙霧均模糊了時間的概念。令觀眾不僅疑惑，『我看了這朵花多長時間了？是6分鐘還是20分鐘？』 當媒介改變時，其傳遞的信息也隨之改變。季璁的《小品之十二 彎子木》為我們的日常經驗帶來新的感知可能：一片顫抖的樹葉成為令人注目的焦點，而沿著植物的濕潤根部慢慢遊移的水霧則為畫面增添了調情意味的氛圍。」 Written by 文/ Halim Madi  

In a recent article featuring the rise of water-themed art in the Financial Times, Wu Chi-Tsung’s Cyano-Collage Series was introduced in detail as a supporting argument for the potential cultural and philosophical depth of Art of this theme.  It was stated that Wu Chi-Tsung didn’t originally intend his cyanotypes to be about water. He began the works with mountains in mind, but soon saw that his photographic blue spaces resembled tumultuous waves. As the series grew he began to explore ways the works could be interpreted as traditional Shanshui paintings, ocean views and natural landscapes.  Chi-Tsung shares that “I was thinking I could try the possibilities of combining earlier techniques and materials, and hoping I could work with Xuan paper.” Regarding the production process that is direct and analogue, “I’m basically like a farmer,” he laughs, “it’s physical. I crumble the paper, I feel the paper. When the humidity is different it affects the paper. If it’s drier, it’s harder. If it’s more humid, it’s softer. There are lots of coincidences that I cannot control. That’s the best part.”  The writer continued to state that the results are abstract but appear like seascapes. “I cannot say if [the work] is concrete or abstract,” Wu adds. “Chinese landscapes never really represent specific mountains. An artist draws their own interpretation of the scene.” Chi-Tsung’s works are growing ever larger: his recent show at Sean Kelly in New York included a triptych of pieces reaching up to 9m high. The works also reflect the artist’s love of rock climbing in Taipei – “facing a giant wall every day and a sea wave just behind me”. Similarly, his aim is to immerse the viewer in the space. 在《金融時報》近期一篇關於聚焦於「水」的當代藝術的報道中，《氰山集》系列被詳盡介紹以表現該主題作品在文化廣度與哲學深度上的潛力。 報道中介紹道，《氰山集》系列的最初靈感來源於山景而非水景，但藝術家很快就意識到作品的藍色畫面亦形似波濤洶湧的海浪。隨著系列的發展，他挖掘出其多樣解讀的可能性：它們既可以是一幅山水畫、海景也可能是其他自然風景。 吳季璁分享道，「我想嘗試結合早期的技術與材料，並希望能夠使用宣紙來創作」。而談及其直接而手動的創作過程——而談及他在戶外，與化學藥劑與紫外線共同創作的過程——「我就像一個農民」，他笑著說。他創造性地在宣紙塗佈感光藥劑，將其揉皺後曝光兩小時，再將每張相紙在水中清洗，清洗時長取決於他期望達到的效果，最長可達一小時。「這是個物理性的過程。在揉皺紙張時，我能夠感知到它們的狀態。紙張在不同的濕度下會呈現不同質感，在乾燥氣候中會偏硬、空氣潮濕時則柔軟。（製作過程）充滿了偶然與巧合，是我無從控制的，而這正是最有趣的部分」。 作者評論稱這些作品是抽象的，但看起來又仿若海景。「我不願斷言（作品）是具體的還是抽象的」，季璁補充說，「傳統山水畫從來不描繪具體的山，（它們只是）藝術家對於風景的個人性的欣賞與解讀」。季璁在不斷挑戰作品的尺幅，在他最近於紐約尚凱利畫廊舉辦的個展中，最大的一幅寬達9米。對他而言，創作這件作品的體驗與他熱愛的攀岩是相通的，都是「每天面對一堵巨墻，身後就是海浪」。他希望觀眾在欣賞作品時也能夠擁有同樣的沉浸體驗。 Written by/ 文 Francesca Gavin