Amie Zhiyou Fan: March 2011

Fan or window, 430mm x 360mm, Zhiyou Fan

This collage is the most abstract one of the whole. All the photos were taken in Humble Administrator's Garden and all of them were paintings. The conception which is one of the aesthetics of the garden is the measure of how well the garden reflects a painting or poem. The disposition and pruning of garden plants and the color arrangement design have a tight connection with paintings. The fan-shaped part can be considered as a window or a sandalwood fan. If it is a window, the pattern can be the borrowing or borrowed view that artfully distant views are incorporated into the whole.

Garden in sunshine, 430mm x 360mm, Zhiyou Fan

This collage is my favorite one. The theme actually emerged from the process. I try to express the symmetry, balance, contrast, and optical illusion in the final work. Firstly, we can see that the central image of two buildings with up-curved roof shows the symmetry and balance, as well as the tree at very left and right side. Secondly, we can also find the contrast between the building and trees, light and shadow. In terms of the materials and form, Trees are more elastic and free than solid walls and roof. Due to the sunshine, the shadows of trees and buildings also can be distinguished as irregular form and regular form. At last, in general, people may consider that there are two buildings in the collage. While actually, the corridor is not quiet match with the roof above which also seems like tow different buildings.

Grottoes of rock, 430mm x 360mm, Zhiyou Fan

This collage is trying to show continuity and profound. As we know, China is mostly covered in mountains, thus they have occupied a special place in the collective imagination. The mountain in the Chinese imagination is magical place. The elaborate grottoes of rock serve the same function, a small piece of the mountain through which to stroll, full of caves where immortals live. I put grottoes of rock as the central image in the middle. They connect all the pathways and the building I expressed in this collage. We can also imagination how people go through the pile of rocks and get to the door on the top. The layout of this piece is typical asymmetrical which reveals the profound, lasting and distance.

Untitled, 430mm x 360mm, Zhiyou Fan

This piece of collage almost demonstrates every element of Chinese garden: architecture, plants, water, rocks, path. Chinese gardens are built not planted. The basic form of the garden is created by ponds and mounds. In terms of mounds, decorative Chinese rocks, are used both for structural and sculptural purposes. The sculptural Taihu rock is especially prized because it represents wisdom and immortality. Such rocks, combined with streams and pools, form the basis of a garden's plan. The softness of water offsets the solidity of the rocks, while also acting to reflect the constantly changing sky above. The pits dug to heap these mounds are used as ponds and streams. With the right properties such a pond may be the home of goldfish and mandarin ducks. The goal of the design is to make the scenery beautiful and the landscape wonderful. The pavilions are placed in this landscape of mounds and ponds at auspicious points. Together the mound, pond, and pavilion create the primary form of the garden. A secondary layer is created by plants which makes the garden vibrant.

Bamboos and water, 430mm x 360mm, Zhiyou Fan

This collage reveals two essential elements of a Chinese garden, which are water and plants. Bamboo is one of the "Four Junzi Flowers" symbolizing integrity which has always been quite the praise of the literati. This kind of plants is very normal in Chinese garden. As we can see, stream or pond in this collage is not exactly showed in visual but can be imagined because of a boat. The layers of bamboo images were not randomly arranged. The brighter and bigger ‘bamboos’ are on the upper layer while the darker and smaller ‘bamboos’ are on the lower layer that demonstrate the distance. People also can imagine what is behind the bamboo-forest and where does the boat head to.

Corridor, 430mm x 360mm, Zhiyou Fan

Showing of the corridors reflects my explicit purpose. I enriched one pathway into two and one of them leads to the moon-shaped door. The blurry pond, rocks, trees and bamboos all act as background which highlights the main part. At the very beginning, all pathways share the same function, which is connection. In this collage, a winding roofed corridor which connects the entry, residence, and plants to make the view more vivid and abundant. Some terms of aesthetics of the garden are judged by its approach and scenes The approach describes how the garden may express the idea of nature beyond the theme. The scene is how well paired two opposite scene are and how they create harmony.