Thoughtlandia

di Katherine Yixuan Dong

Thoughtlandia

Venerdì 23 ottobre 2020

Zone: 9 - Stazione Garibaldi, Niguarda

Two-dimensional space can be seen as a projection of the physical universe onto a plane. Without the definition of mathematics, what we can immediately think of is graphics, paintings, screens, etc. However, they are all the existences of planes that we can only see from one angle. When looking at the classical paintings, we stop in front of them for hours because of the obsession with the superb skills and attracted by the aura of the paintings. When facing an abstract painting, we want to find logical clues from its composition and colors. But these works are established, in reality, we have already been able to leap from a two-dimensional image to another world, Thanks to the QR code -- A aggregate composed of small black squares which is unpredictable but minimalist. Though regarding it as the 21st century continuer of Piet Mondrian's Composition with Red, Blue and Yellow is too ironic, the QR code is of great significance to us today. It is extremely functional and we need an auxiliary tool to scan it. Hence, it is like opening "stargate" and towards another new perspective instantly. In this era driven by technological products, technology allows us to enter the two-dimensional world and then beyond the two-dimensional world to three-dimensional or even four-dimensional five-dimensional.

 “THOUGHTLANDIA” inspired by Edwin Abbott Abbott’s Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions. The characters in the book are all replaced by geometric figures while the story tells that the real space that is only replaced by symbols. In this regard, the QR code is also a metaphor in which articulates the process of artistic creation. Ideas start in the brain but are never limited to any dimension, and are finally presented to the audience through the simple medium. The audience's reception is another loop, opening up some new personal perspectives while watching. In fact, the works exhibited at STUDIO PEPE 36 can only be seen online version in which the contents are incomplete, including the form that the audience sees which can only be scanned by QR code. The only entity that exists is the huge QR code on the wall. It can be said to be a painting comprised of QR code. Contrary to the digital technique, this QR code is made totally by hand. Only through the artist's delicate brushstrokes by ballpoint pen and the black blocks, the audience can successfully scan the webpage with a high degree of accuracy. Entering this "stargate", audience will see a variety of video works, thus truly standing in the STUDIO PEPE 36.