Depicting time

Capturing a sense of time in a piece of art is a challenge that bedevils many artists. Chen Qi, a professor at the Central Academy of Fine Arts, tries to illustrate what he calls the "sound of time" in his latest solo exhibition Notations of Time , which is currently on display in Amilie Art Gallery in the 798 Art Zone.

The exhibit includes an unfurled scroll, covered with random bits of cut paper.

On closer examination, under each bit of paper, visitors will be surprised to spot what seem to be machine-cut edges outlining holes with topographic contours that shrink as they extend into the depths, causing a mild case of vertigo.

The idea for the work came from observing the holes that worms eat out of books, according to Chen. They drill through multiple pages as they eat books, eventually creating strange and beautiful "worm caves".

"When you look at the work, layers of contours can be taken as growth rings that inspire you to think deeply of life itself and even hear the sound of growth, the sound of time passing," Chen said. "And that's why I made the cuttings into a human figure."

Famous for water-based woodback printings, the artist in this exhibit tries to capture the traces of time using a combination of modern visual expression and images.

"My hope is to use clear and tangible material methods to present the state of life within the abstraction that is time," he said.

Unlike art works that offer a sense of beauty, many works at the exhibition gives off a certain sense of unease, such as 1912, an illustration artwork in which Chen depicts a state of coldness and reality.

It is a 40-square-meter room adorned with one of Chen's water prints and figure-shaped cuts spreading across the floor.

Chen said the work is meant to give visitors the idea of a body beneath the peaceful water surface. "No matter how brilliant it used to be or who you used to be, things will finally rest in peace," Chen said. "Hopefully the work can offer visitors spiritual comfort and hit a responsive chord with them."