Today we take you to meet Taiwanese award-winning multidisciplinary artist Wu Chi-tsung. Wu is famous for creating beautiful landscape artworks by wrinkling Xuan paper and putting it under sunlight. FTV reporter Stephany Yang takes us to see the artistic process.

Beautiful landscape artworks are hung on the wall. At first glance, it might look like a regular painting, but it’s actually a cyanotype work created by Wu.

He first applies a photosensitive coating to Xuan paper, which is also called rice paper. He then wrinkles the paper, and puts it under the sunlight at the top of his studio’s rooftop.

Wu Chi-tsung
Artist
For about half an hour, I will keep changing the shape and read the beautiful and random texture of light and shadow. Then, gradually develop the shape of the work. All the work, I did usually under the sunlight. Sunlight could change any time. Wind will move the paper. The most important thing. You cannot control how you crumble the paper and what form you would get. I love all the randomness in the work so I can always find new things and learn from it.

Afterward, he washes the paper. Mountains, oceans, glaciers, and other landscapes slowly emerge.

Wu Chi-tsung
Artist
After exposure under the sunlight, I need to wash the paper for half to one hour to remove the extra chemical because cyanotype chemical contains some acid. If it remains in the paper, it will make the paper become yellow and fragile. It is kind of interesting because I was working under the direct sunlight so I could see stronger contrast like this part. You could see a very strong color tone and contrast inside. For me, I almost could see each paper and feel the weather of the day when I was doing the exposure. I think every day is different.

For some of the works, he uses aluminum mounts to create a gray texture. Wu says the process of creating an art piece requires a great deal of patience. The color, detail, and texture of the work greatly depend on the type of Xuan paper and weather conditions.

Wu Chi-tsung
Artist
You can see on top is no acrylic color, anything. Just simply a reflection of the aluminum panel with the texture. When you walk around the work and see the work from different directions, the reflection will change. Also, the light of the environment changes through the daytime. The papers I used on this work was created on a cloudy day but with stronger UV light because you can see the strong intensity of blue tones, but at the same time have a very smooth shadow tones. Also, this paper was machine-made paper, not handmade paper. It shows a very strong blue.

Wu was trained from an early age in Chinese calligraphy, watercolor, Chinese ink painting, and drawing. He received his Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Taipei National University of the Arts. He began experimenting with cyanotype art in 2012. He hopes to reinvent ink painting.

Wu Chi-tsung
Artist
My cyanotype work combines two things together. One is to have a dialogue with ink painting, Shan shui, this tradition that I started to do since I was a kid. I really love the kind of aesthetic behind it. But nowadays, we don’t use brushes anymore. We barely use pen for handwriting. It might be difficult for the audience to relate to this art tradition. So, I got the idea to replace the ink and brush part with experimental photography. That is why I came up with the idea to try the cyanotype. It is very simple and very direct. The most beautiful thing is that it works under the sunlight. It is not in a dark room. It is the environment engaging with nature which I like a lot.

Wu says he wants to continue to create bigger works and pay tribute to nature.

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