GUO JIAN | Lenscape

Lenscape is Guo Jian’s first solo exhibition at Vermilion Art. Showcasing Guo Jian’s new works expanding on the series collected by the Art Gallery of NSW and White Rabbit Gallery, this series brings environmental issues into focus through the lens of the artist’s experimental practice.

From a distance it is a peaceful landscape or beautiful fugitives in muted tones. As you come closer, you realise the work is a mosaic of tiny fragments: one hundred and thirty thousand miniature faces replace each pixel of the original photograph. Each is cut from rubbish that Guo photographed around the bridges, lakes and hillsides of Guizhou.

In Guo Jian’s trips to his hometown in Guizhou, a place of famously scenic beauty, he found there were many discarded advertisements, magazines, newspapers, packets, boxes and bags. Guo Jian took over 100,000 photographs over three years to juxtapose classic paintings from ancient China. Through a historical lens, Guo Jian brings our attention to environmental and social issues we face today.

《千里江山》系列作品聚焦于社会飞速发展所带来的废弃物及其对环境造成的冲击。郭健用了三年多的时间捕捉了十几万张废弃包装袋的影像，巧妙地解构并重塑了古典山水、花鸟、人物等经典画卷，将其与一次性消费文化的残骸并置，赋予了它们全新的当代价值。

从远处观赏，这些古典画卷无疑是精美绝伦的传世佳作，每一幅都具有重要的文化和历史意义。仔细观察，却另有乾坤。每一幅影像都是由微小的碎片拼接而成——十几万张微型面孔取代了原始照片的每个像素。郭健在家乡贵州的桥边、湖畔和山坡拍摄到的废弃包装袋的照片，还原成青山绿水，提醒我们曾经的美好记忆和警示我们对环境的关怀。