Senies of Work ~ 4 . Illegible Book
“Knowledge itself does not tell people how to use it, and its instruction lays outside the book.”― Francis Bacon
501consciousness ship 2005 Xiao Nanmu 72x60x26cm
601consciousness ship 2006 Xiao Nanmu 85x60x58cm
1.Ping-Cheng LIANG releases the heaviness of wood itself by giving it a light imagery in “Gravity Release” series. While in “Book & Illegible Book” series, he precisely transforms wood materials into books with smooth and flowing lines. The artworks in “Book & Illegible Book” series are visually embodied contemporary Eastern elements that demonstrate a beautiful posture in form of scrolls.
705consciousness ship 2007 Xiao Nanmu 55x20x15cm
503consciousness ship 2005 Xiao Nanmu 101x59x35cm
2.Books are the media that carries knowledge. Exploring the origin of paper can trace back to the papermaking as one of the four major inventions in ancient China. Easterns have been fond of wood since ancient times. They’ve bounded papers into books that record the crystallization of human wisdom that has been passed down to immortality from ancient times to the present. Although we are moving towards an electronic generation, we are still accustomed to the touch and reading pace through papers.That is why “Book & Illegible Book” series is more worthwhile to be “read” carefully and thoroughly in the current 21st century.
Illegible Book ~Peacock 2018 Hinoki 50x26x35cm
NO1601llegible Book 2016 Hinoki 64x44x29cm
NO1901 Illegible Book 2019 Hinoki 93x42x80cm
NO2020-7Illegible Book 2016 Hinoki 88x50x52cm
3.The carved curly papers in “Book & Illegible Book” series often form a spiral outline at the end of each page which are reminiscent of the volutes in ancient Greek Ionic order. In fact, most of Ping-Cheng LIANG’s sculptures have strong architectural features. He injects symmetry and harmony, movements and flow in response to the structure of his works, which make his creations are both sculptures and micro-buildings.
Like a book 2022-i 2016 Hinoki pomegranate 30x23x23cm
Like a book 2022-B Xiao Nanmu 64x44x29cm
Like a book 2022-N Hinoki pomegranate 33x25x26cm
Like a book 2022-J Hinoki pomegranate 30x21x16cm
Like a book 2023-C fir pomegranate 18x12x11cm
4.LIANG is not aiming at creating “Hyperrealistic” works and thus it is not about how realistic his works are when we appreciate his art. Although we cannot “read” “Book & Illegible Book” but this serial works of art enables us a direct association that this unreadable book comes from wood and vice versa. This evolving translation of imagery enriches the work’s meaning and leads us to further explore its aesthetic concept. Undoubtedly, LIANG knows the exact place of his artworks, that is quite on the border between modern and contemporary, tradition and innovation.