Wei Ling Hung

Displayed on a floating shelf is a blank opened notebook, and delicately carved on the right page are the Laozi words 玄牝 (Xuan Pin). Whereas Xuan – 玄 – means that which is profound and subtle, the unseen, the darkness, and the colour black, Pin – 牝 – refers to the female gender, especially as it pertains to animals. Read together, they designate a generative life-creating and life-nurturing force shrouded in mystery. In more than one way, everything encapsulated in the concept of Xuan Pin functions as the leitmotif of Wei Ling Hung’s explorations at Est-Nord-Est.

Deeply moved and inspired by The Cave of Forgotten Dreams (2010) – a documentary by the German director Werner Herzog about the Chauvet cave – Wei Ling focuses on one of the cave’s half-female and half-animal hidden figures as embodying the spiritual and generative force of Xuan Pin. Laid on a table are hybridized characters carefully drawn with black ink on translucent paper. But Wei Ling also draws formal inspiration from the Chauvet drawings, which were made under the wavering, flickering light of fire torches on uneven surfaces, hence reminding us of the haptic and sensuous qualities of drawing. Becoming a mother has intensified Wei Ling’s sense of touch, and through her works she reconnects with that sense as a form of ancient wisdom and intuitive knowledge. Following the natural ridges of rocks and wooden sticks, she uses a Dremel to carve out abstracted line work and human-animal beings.

Playing up the tension that can exist between dual entities, Wei Ling firmly wraps different coloured wool strands around rocks, which are placed on a chair. The sharp-edged rocks are enveloped and embraced by the vulnerable, soft, and malleable wool, once again presenting viewers with unexpected, hybridized artworks. Also influenced by the essence of Tai Chi, she invites viewers entering her studio space to become aware of and attentive to the way humans alter space and how, conversely, space alters humans. Through guided meditation, she prepares the audience to better connect with the space and fully grasp the reach of 玄牝 and the way it informs her works.