Past Exhibitions > Senior Highlights: Current Work from the Senior Seminar 2013

Clive Zheng
Clive Zheng

Not Two.

I want to start a conversation between painting and photography, and draw people’s attention back to the question of aura that Walter Benjamin raised. What is the value of art in the age of mechanical reproduction? Looking at two different experiences at the same time, I am asking myself again what is lost and what is gained in the world I am living in.

I use painting as a form of meditation. Artists such as Willem de Kooning, Hans Hoffman, Jackson Pollock inspired me. I am reflecting my thoughts and emotions on the canvas and I let my instinct tell me where I should go and what I should do. The wild texture in my paintings often reflects the struggles that I am experiencing. Painting makes it possible for me to look at myself without any limitations, and allows my thoughts come and go without worrying about the result.

The way I treat photography is totally different. Instead of looking inside myself, I look into the viewfinder and use the camera to observe other people’s lives. I motivate myself to explore as many places as possible record my experiences in black and white photography. Inspired by photographers such as Henry Wessel, Garry Winogrand, and Robert Frank, I am looking at certain gestures and expressions to explore the treasure of day-to-day life