The Flow of Nature - Li Chun 自然之流 - 立春

The 24 Solar Terms (二十四节气), knowledge in traditional East Asian lunisolar calendars, are developed through observation of the sun's annual circular motion. Originated in China, solar terms respond to the needs of seasonal rules and weather and disaster forecast in the traditional agricultural society. Liu Chang’s series “The Flow of Nature” uses computer-generated images to represent each solar term. By substituting the historical extremum values of weather parameters such as temperature, humidity, and wind speed of each solar term, the 24 solar terms are abstracted into many interconnected weaving patterns, akin to fragments extracted from time. Applying data-visualization method, the work thus encompasses phenological information, cultural elements, and real meteorological data. The artist plans to collect more weather data in the future, therefore we will be able to see the clues and traces of climate changes from the changes in the work in the following years.

“The Flow of Nature” series features computer-generated animations in series and 24 prints. In each animation, digitized solar terms appear in turns and circulate endlessly; by contrast, in the prints produced by Chengdu-based apartment silkscreen studio “Happy Town,” each solar term is frozen into a frame of a still image. Among them, there are four interactive prints titled Lichun (the Beginning of Spring), Lixia (the Beginning of Summer), Liqiu (the Beginning of Autumn) and Lidong (the Beginning of Winter). When the humidity and temperature changes, patterns on the four prints will change accordingly. Liu has always been interested in the interaction between people, machinery, and nature, and “The Flow of Nature” series further brings into her interest the temporal dimension. The entire group of interactive prints can only be fully appreciated upon the completion of a full cycle in each year. As Liu suggests: “I hope there is a kind of interaction that is subtle, silent, circuit-free, and even touchless. Temperature, humidity, tactile sensations are exactly the elements that occur naturally throughout our body and interact with us all the time.”

The work is on show at Fou Gallery, from July 14, 2018 to September 23, 2018, at Liu Chang: The Light of Small Things.

二十四节气的制定来源于农耕社会对自然的依赖和预测自然的需求。而刘唱的《自然之流》系列利用电脑生成图像，通过代入每一个节气温度、湿度和风向等天气参数的历史极值，将二十四节气抽象化为一个个相互关联的编织图案，像从时间里抽取出的碎片，既包含着物候信息，文化元素，又融合了真实气象数值。在未来收集更多年份的气象数据后，从每一年图案的微小变化中可以看到气象变化的端倪和踪迹。《自然之流》系列包括动画影像和二十四张版画作品。在四件电脑生成动画中，数字化的节气轮流出现，循环往复。而在刘唱与丝网版画工作室“解忧堂”合作的版画中，节气凝结成为一帧帧静止的画面。其中包括《立春》、《立夏》、《立秋》、《立冬》四幅互动版画。当外界湿度和温度发生变化时，版画上的图像会随之而变。刘唱一直关注人、机器和自然的交互，而《自然之流》系列更纳入了时间维度，整组互动版画作品在一年四季完整循环后才能呈现全貌。刘唱说：“我希望有一种交互是微妙的，不发声，不连电路，甚至不用去触摸。温度，湿度，触感，这些发生在周身的元素就是每时每刻和我们发生交互的部分。”

本系列作品在否画廊刘唱的新作个展《微物之光》展出，时间为2018年7月14日至2018年9月23日