Lot 934: Hundred Layers of Ink

YANG JIECHANG (B. 1956) Hundred Layers of Ink Scroll, mounted and framed Ink on paper 176.5 x 96 cm. (69 1/2 x 37 3/4 in.) Executed in 1990

176.5 x 96 cm.

Yang Jiechang's layering of ink is a performative process of repetition that contemplates on ink, time and space. In the Hundred Layers of Ink series, Yang applies fresh ink onto paper until the point of saturation is reached, taking three to four applications daily over a long period. The painting thus becomes luminescent and sculptural as the ink accumulates, creating a beautiful marbling of dried ink, with an almost metallic sheen and distinct fragrance. Influenced by Taoist philosophy, Yang meditates on the physicality of not only ink but also water and paper - a subtle deconstruction of the very act of writing and painting in the ink-wash tradition.