Drops of Water J.T.82024-79 水滴 J.T.82024-79

The drops of water that cover the whole picture look ready to shower on us only at the slightest shaking of the canvas. When we move closer, we find that they are only representations in paint, applied directly on unsized canvas, but this does not undermine our admiration for the perfect illusion. This work is, to put it dryly, nothing more than a typical example of trompe l'oeil, which has been popular in the West from antiquity. Yet, in all the numerous works presenting water drops done in the tradition of trompe l'oeil that prizes reality and truthfulness, the artist's real concern has always been on the subtle relationship between the painting's material surface and the illusion it creates. He has stated that the images of the springs and clear streams in his homeland motivate him to paint water drops, and that, in painting them, he feels he is doing landscapes in a way. A series of his works from recent years is titled "Recurrence." In his paintings, we can see his grand vision of nature in which water drops gather to form a stream and they in turn ultimately form a great river. If we take the drops of water as a symbol for a people separated and dispersed, his paintings might even express a wish for his people's unification.