Artist Chen Chun-Hao finds new and sensational ways to use everyday materials. For decades, the artist used thumbtacks to create his works. In this series entitled The Way of Nailing, he switches to a different medium, a nail gun, to shoot thousands and thousands of nails into a stretched canvas. The final result is a stunning collection of recreated traditional Chinese ink paintings.
Chinese landscape painting is regarded as the essence of traditional culture. It is considered to be the pursuit of happiness and spirituality, and according to one review written by Li-Hao Chang, “When many painters imitate the works of predecessors, there is not only a dialogue with ancestors, but also a slight sense of competition.”
Through repeated movements and extreme patience, Chun-Hao forms a plethora of textured shapes with the points and lines of the nails. As the viewer moves around the piece, the changing reflections of light and shadow bouncing off of the complex metallic surface creates a type of visual expression and unpredictable and unique experience each time.
