Interview: Creator Investigates Traditional vs. Digital Art via Grand Cyanotypes
# **Wu Chi-Tsung’s *Fading Origin*: Blending Tradition with Technological Progress**
Wu Chi-Tsung’s most recent solo show, *Fading Origin*, at Sean Kelly Gallery in Los Angeles, presents a captivating reflection on the dynamic interplay of tradition, time, and technology. The artist, based in Taipei and Berlin, is celebrated for his interdisciplinary approach, skillfully merging Eastern and Western influences. His art embodies a timeless quality while remaining thoroughly modern, rooted in classical methods yet engaging with contemporary materials and ideas.
For Chi-Tsung, the art-making journey resembles a pilgrimage—an ongoing voyage of discovery and change, wherein artistic traditions are revisited, deconstructed, and reconstructed into innovative forms. *Fading Origin* poignantly embodies this philosophy, presenting viewers with an engaging fusion of analog craftsmanship and digital aesthetics through pieces from his *Cyano-Collage* series, *Wrinkled Texture* works, and inventive installations.
## **Revitalizing Cyanotype in Modern Art**
At the core of *Fading Origin* is Chi-Tsung’s *Cyano-Collage* series, which reinvents the cyanotype printing technique—one of photography’s earliest methods. Typically, cyanotype entails coating paper with light-sensitive chemicals and exposing it to sunlight, resulting in vibrant blue shades. In his reinterpretation, Chi-Tsung uses these materials on Xuan paper, a historically important medium in Chinese calligraphy and painting. He meticulously hand-creases the paper before exposing it to natural light, producing organic textures reminiscent of landscapes, mountain ranges, and turbulent seas.
The resulting artworks vary in size and format, from expansive, immersive panels to intimate, window-like views. Each piece evokes a dreamlike sense of movement and depth, situated in the tension between permanence and transience—a consistent theme within Chi-Tsung’s body of work.
## **Questioning Authenticity and Replication**
Complementing *Cyano-Collage*, Chi-Tsung’s *Wrinkled Texture* series deepens the exploration of authenticity and reproduction. These diptych and quadriptych works start with a single cyanotype print, which is subsequently duplicated through further exposures within the same composition. This recursive layering method echoes the digital processes of duplication and manipulation, highlighting how modern society interacts with images in a landscape of limitless reproductions.
“My generation navigated the crossroads of the analog and digital realms,” Chi-Tsung shares. “The notion of ‘originality’ and what constitutes ‘reality’ are topics that intrigue me deeply.”
By replicating digital reproduction through painstaking analog techniques, Chi-Tsung prompts a reevaluation of authenticity, a concept that has become increasingly nuanced in today’s digital era.
## **Connecting East and West Through Art and Philosophy**
Chi-Tsung’s artistic evolution has been profoundly influenced by his rigorous education in both traditional Eastern painting and Western visual arts. He began his artistic journey with calligraphy, ink painting, watercolor, and drawing as a child, with these disciplines shaping his aesthetic sensibility. However, during his university studies, he gravitated towards experimental media, including video and kinetic installations. This multifaceted approach enables him to reinterpret historical techniques through a modern perspective.
“In East Asian culture, innovation often emerges through gradual integration,” Chi-Tsung elaborates. “I view my work as a conduit—linking the past with the present, merging Eastern and Western viewpoints.”
His aptitude for integrating these influences transcends material exploration, entering broader cultural and philosophical discussions. Through his cyanotype series or kinetic installations, Chi-Tsung consistently examines the themes of time, transience, and technological advancement.
## ***Calligraphy Study 003*: A Participatory Reflection on Tradition**
A standout piece in *Fading Origin* is *Calligraphy Study 003*, a large kinetic installation that invites audience participation. This work showcases a 3.6-meter-tall rotating fabric wheel covered in moisture-sensitive ink. Visitors are encouraged to use a brush and water to write characters on the wheel, which briefly darken before fading.
The installation poignantly comments on the fragility of written tradition in an age dominated by digital communication. “In a world where we seldom even reach for a pen, let alone a calligraphy brush, this form of expression is slowly fading,” Chi-Tsung observes. By activating the wheel’s speed with a foot pedal, participants encounter the contrast between slow, meditative craftsmanship and the relentless rhythm of contemporary life.
## **Fostering Meaningful Encounters in a Digital Era**
Even as we navigate a time when art is increasingly accessed through digital means, Chi-Tsung remains dedicated to the invaluable experience of physical engagement with art.
“We can view art from across the globe on our screens, but exhibitions provide a deeper experience…