What happens when you try to draw fleeting moments, whether that be of figures, flowers or natural landscapes? As the subject is changing, a detailed drawing can’t capture a moment; instead, it takes a series of snapshots and immortalises them in an artwork. The wind may have moved the leaves on those flowers, the person being drawn may have moved, and the shadows of clouds over a landscape may have shifted.
Couple the changing subject with the fact that we are all in flux as we evolve, and we arrive at the nexus Zhengwei Fan is trying to portray. Instead of depicting the linear nature of time that we all live through, he likes to see it as an element that can bend and flex. He is capturing the ripples and distortions of time, taking our concept of real-time and transforming it into something that could be considered ‘surreal time’.
In his series ‘Growing Inward,’ a person emerges from the light glowing in a vibrant red. It’s a re-awakening or a rebirth as a new person comes into being. It’s something we can all relate to as significant changes take place in our lives regarding education, career, and relationships. There are surrealist elements, as the plant in the background almost feels like it’s part of the body in the foreground – a motif we also see in the works of Surrealist masters such as Dorothea Tanning and Frida Kahlo.
A surreal beauty is also captured in his series ‘Whispers of the North’, inspired by Iceland’s natural beauty. Waterfalls, isolated houses, black sand beaches, and the outer shell of a plane crash can all be found on this small island. As someone who has recently visited, I can attest to its diversity of natural beauty, and Zhengwei Fan captures it perfectly – making the series instantly recognisable as Icelandic.
Alongside these series, we also see monochrome works in which figures are hidden in shadows as light streams through windows outside the frame. They are dramatic, eye-catching artworks that evoke a sense of mystery about the story of the person in the picture. It feels like a nod to the Old Master technique of Chiaroscuro, where light and shade were used in Baroque paintings to create a dramatic effect.
There is great versatility in Zhengwei Fan’s practice. As it evolves, I’d like to see them come together – possibly through the figurative, landscape and shadows all coming together into one series of works. The elements of surrealism could also evolve into even more surreal and fantastical forms as the drawings expand into works on a larger scale.
The ideas in the works on the evolving nature of memories and emotions over time are powerful. It provides a contemporary twist to the concepts explored by the surrealists, and it feels like we’re only just scratching the surface of what Zhengwei Fan has to offer. As more works are created and exhibited, I’ll get to see their work evolve in surreal time.
