New York - Ellen Jong is pleased to introduce new work in ink in the group show, Five Minutes to Live, presented by New Discretions, May 1 - June 27. By appointment, 11am - 4pm daily.
Selected works are framed, sculptural pieces from Jong’s new work in ink which reinvents a traditional, Chinese method of ink-making to create a material that reflects dynamic personal and collective notions of identity.
The organic, animal product-derived material is the medium for these text-based, time-based works. Process is an integral element, Jong calls the ink “a time machine” as it forces her to work backwards in order to move forward. Chinese ink is ground from solid blocks, adding water to create a liquid. Jong reverses the process, making liquid ink and then dehydrating it to achieve a malleable, sculptural medium.
Jong developed the handmade, sculptural ink material over a five-year period, after using a Chinese ink stick in a site-specific performance piece in Shanghai, China. Guided by Chinese roots, her ink is dried and can turn to liquid with water, like an original ink stick. She utilizes this physical property through explorations of appearance. Her pigmented ink simulates the plasticity of caution tape, yet maintains the capacity to liquefy when exposed to extreme heat or moisture. In essence, the ink is alive and has the potential to transform over time. In some cases, Jong applies steam to expedite softening, breaking or bleeding pigment from the caution tape, as demonstrated in these selected works.
The 2020 COVID-19 lockdown inspired Jong to create new ink works. Living in Los Angeles, each stunning sunset she witnessed counted as another day passed in the most shocking year of her life. Photographic prints of red-toned sunsets became the backgrounds for each ink caution tape ribbon text piece. The juxtaposition of handmade ink and digital technology further expresses a vigorous and existential condition to change, especially in our time of anxiety and continued environmental, political and social trauma.
