Trace 2
Jiang Pengyi
蒋鹏奕
Production date
2016
Object Detail
Media
Polaroid print
Measurements
27.4 x 21.4 cm
Notes
For the Trace series (2015-2016) Jiang experimented with the technique of ‘lifting’ the light-sensitive emulsion from a Polaroid photograph by soaking it in water and manipulating it to create an entirely new print: a form of photography without a camera. When the wet emulsion is laid down on a sheet of paper, it can be gently pushed, pinned, creased and folded into new shapes. The dreamy, rumpled images recall the folds of drapery in old master paintings, making us think of empty rooms and uninhabited clothing: the sense of absence is palpable. Vertical lines of light created by folds and wrinkles in the emulsion suggest mysterious glimpses of a world beyond the everyday, forming a visual echo of the white streaks of waterfalls that slice through fissured landscapes depicted in the Grace series, which he was developing concurrently.
Accession number
2016.188