'Pixel analysis': Pushing the boundary of visual art

Some work of Yang Hongwei's series Pixel Analysis. The Mona Lisa shown in different arrangement and sizes of "pixels". As the unit "pixels" grow bigger, the image gets more fuzzy, resembling the zooming effect on a computer screen. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

"The simplicity of the idea of discrete pixel is key to the artist’s successful creation of these visually compelling, sophisticated works," said Lydia H Liu, celebrated cultural critic and Wun Tsun Tam professor in the Humanities Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures of Columbia University. "As the artist tries perversely to make the pixels visible to the eye and tangible to the touch, his works succeed in unbinding the conceptual divide of digital and analog media."

Yang's work is an inspiration of movable printing in traditional Chinese culture, combined with the concept of contemporary digital database matrix. Traditional western wood engraving techniques were used to make the creations more powerful in artistic expression, expanding the meaning of words and images.