YUAN Hui-Li

The "Ink Strokes of Time" series constantly blends Western abstraction with Eastern landscape painting through the repeated application of ink. Mountains becoming water, and the essence of both mountain and water merge into a unified form, unfurling into a series of free-flowing, unrestrained imageries.

In the I Ching (易經), mountains are represented by the 52nd hexagram, 'Gen' (艮), signifying steadfastness and stillness. In the past, I depicted mountain forms with clear contours, using tranquil and understated brushstrokes to convey their stable, serene, and eternal quality. However, the I Ching also states that 'change' (變) is the constant, and continuous flux is the fundamental principle governing the world's operation. Taiwan, being an island frequently affected by earthquakes, offers a vivid illustration: in an instant, landslides and mudslides can disintegrate stable mountain forms, transforming them from solid to fluid. This instantaneously shatters the impression of mountains as eternally immutable and stable. Nature's dissolution, influenced by impermanent factors, means that stable forms can also transform into unstable forms in an instant. Consequently, rupture, incompleteness, and instability have become my perspective on mountains and rocks.
The morphological changes of all things driven by the passage of time can be seen as an inherent essence of the world's generation. Yet, how can this essential generative nature of the world be expressed through landscape painting?
The 'Ink Strokes of Time' series imbues the traditional ink-layering technique (積墨法) in landscape painting with a new, contemporary interpretation and appearance, thereby expressing three creative ideas:

1. To represent the mutability of all things in time through the expression of Gestalt and rupture (完形與破形).
2. To reveal how the ink-layering technique and sized Xuan paper intertwine to create new material properties and viewing experiences for ink accumulation.
3. To metaphorically represent the passage of life's years through the dynamic between more and less.

The 'Ink Strokes of Time' series began in 2012 with an exploration into 'time' and 'rupture.' I undertook the transformation of my previously completed 'The Dancing Lines' series. Ultimately, the dancing outlines from the ' The Dancing Lines ' series were disintegrated and fractured by countless ink dots, becoming flowing, spreading fractals, transforming from figuration to abstraction. The very creative process of the 'Ink Stains of Time' series is thus a manifestation of time itself, which is also demonstrated in the animation video.
I deliberately chose sized Xuan paper(熟宣)[1] for the ink-layering technique (積墨法). Through the continuous accumulation of thousands upon thousands of brushstrokes and ink dots, the resulting layers of accumulated ink stains, interacting with the paper's material properties, reveal a distinctively layered and transparent state. This contrasts sharply with traditional ink-layering, which often seeks a homogenous, blended effect after multiple applications. While classical ji-mo emphasizes an aesthetic of 'accumulating thickness for density, weight, and richness,' in 'Stains of Time,' it transforms into an alternative quality of 'accumulating thickness for thinness, lightness, and translucency.' Upon closer observation, these overlapping ink stain layers create another form of layered spatial dimension. This is not a formal reference to identifiable mountain forms; rather, after concrete mountain shapes have been gradually blurred, the viewer directly confronts the interwoven material properties of ink and paper. When Gestalt forms are disintegrated by fractals, one can, upon meticulous observation of the details, microscopically gaze into another spatial structure concerning the overlapping relationships between dots, lines, and planes.

From a material perspective, "The Ink Strokes of Time" series focuses on both the inherent temporal layering of the accumulated ink technique (積墨法) and the revelation of its previously overlooked spatial qualities.
The series brings the temporal and spatial aspects to the forefront by documenting the ink dots, lines, and stains accumulating frame by frame. This process makes visible the time-intensive layering that is usually hidden in the final flat artwork, thereby revealing the inherent, yet often concealed and overlooked, temporal characteristics of the accumulated ink itself.
Furthermore, through modern media technology, these documented processes are post-produced into animations, magnifying the details. In this microscopic view, the overlapping brushstrokes create light, transparent layers of stained space. At this point, the accumulated ink technique is no longer a secondary tool for rendering form or aiding representation. Instead, it transforms into the primary subject, embodying the materiality of time and space.

Furthermore, with countless ink dots gradually filling a blank sheet of paper through the process of ink accumulation, from 'less' to 'more,' the white paper progressively becomes covered. If each ink dot represents a unit of time, then the blank paper is akin to one's lifespan, and the accumulating dots symbolize the continuous layering of time in a life. The more time one accumulates in life, the more one ages, and the less time remains available. Therefore, 'Strokes of Time' also highlights the relativity of 'more and less,' serving as a metaphor for the relationship between life and time. Just as with white paper and ink stains, the more days one lives, the less blank time remains. The dynamic between 'more' and 'less' is a mutually dependent relationship of existence.
 
   

袁慧莉
 
​時間之漬(The Ink Strokes of Time series )在不斷地點漬筆墨中，融合西方抽象與東方山水，山流變為水，山與水之形意合而為一，漫成一幅幅自由奔放的意象。

山在《易經》第52卦中表為「艮」，意指穩重靜止，過去我描繪山形都具有清晰輪廓，以靜止平淡的筆調表現山的穩定寧靜亙古氣質，但是《易經》也說"變"是常態(易者變也)，不斷的變動是世界運行的基本原理，臺灣是個地震頻繁的島嶼，在地震來的一瞬間，走山、土石流讓原本穩固的山形瓦解，從穩定變成流形。瞬間瓦解了山石是永恆不變的穩定印象，自然的變解受到無常因素的影響，穩定的形也會在瞬間變成不定的形。因此破形、不完整與不穩定也成為我看待山石的角度。時間變遷推移造成萬物的形態變化，"變"是世界生成的一種本質，然而，這種世界的生成本質如何透過山水畫表現出來？
 
「時間之漬」系列藉由傳統山水畫裡的「積墨法」，給予一個當代新的詮釋與樣貌，由此表現三個創作想法：一、在完形與破形之間，表現時間中山水的變異性；二、積墨法與熟宣交織出新的積墨物性與觀看經驗；三、在多與少之間隱喻人生歲月。


《時間之漬》系列於2012年開始思考「時間」與「破形」，將原本完成的《舞山水系列》作品拿來改造，以無數的積墨點漬瓦解《舞山水》裡原本具體的輪廓線條，破形成流動漫延的碎形，從具象轉變成抽象，《時間之漬》系列的創作過程本身就是時間的映現，這也顯示在動畫錄像中。

我刻意選擇熟宣[2]施以積墨法，經過不斷堆疊千筆萬墨，這些累積的點漬與紙張物性之間產生的積墨層次，呈現了層次分明且透明的層疊狀態，這有別於傳統積墨法在多次點漬累積後所追求的混融一片的整體效果，傳統積墨法的「積厚而厚、重、濃」用墨美學，在「時間之漬」中變成了「積厚而薄、輕、透」的另類質地。細觀之，交疊的墨漬層次中形成另一種層疊的空間狀態，這不是某山石可辨識物的外型指涉，在具體山形逐漸被模糊化之後，觀者反而直面墨與紙之間物性交織狀態，當完形被碎形瓦解，卻在細節中得以微觀凝視另一種關於點線面之間交疊的空間結構。

「時間之漬」關注的既是積墨法的時間堆疊本質，也是揭示其過往不被關注的空間特質。而其時間性與空間性透過逐格拍攝紀錄點線墨漬的堆積過程，將原本在平面成品中不可見的積墨時間過程，變為可見，以揭顯積墨物性自身那向來被隱蔽忽略的時間特質。而藉現代媒體科技後製成動畫以放大細部，在微觀中可見其筆痕相互交疊出輕盈、通透的漬痕層次空間，至此，積墨技法不再作為輔助造型賦形功能的再現工法的配角，而是翻轉成為表現時間與空間的物性主角。

而以無數的點漬與紙張之間由少而多的積墨狀態，一張白紙漸漸被填滿，如果以點漬代表時間，那麼，白紙如同人的一生歲月，點漬如同人生不斷疊加的時間過程，人生時間疊加得越多，歲月就漸漸老去，可用的時間漸減少。所以《時間之漬》也彰顯因多而少的相對性，隱喻人生與時間的關係，就如同白紙與墨漬，人生經過的時日越多，剩下空白的歲月時間也越來越少，多與少之間是相對依附的存在關係。


[1] During the papermaking process, the addition of sizing agents (such as alum, starch, etc.) reduces the paper's absorbency, making it less prone to bleeding or blurring. This makes it suitable for gongbi (工筆) painting or fine brushwork, which is the characteristic of sized Xuan paper.

[2] 在造紙過程中，加入膠料（如明礬、澱粉等）可以降低紙張的吸水性，使其不易暈染，適合工筆畫或精細的筆觸，這就是「熟宣」的特性。