Affliction is Bodhi 2

作品賞析

CHENG Cheng-Huang’s Affliction is Bodhi 2 is a water-and-ink painting on a wooden board carved using woodworking tools. This lends it the charm of contrasting shades of ink as well as the three-dimensionality of the tool marks. In this image, two human heads presented in profile float on the water, creating ripples in the pond. From the tops of their heads sprout large tree trunks, which grow together and intertwine in a labyrinthine way, like an ever-growing organism. To the artist, the tree trunk represents the intractable troubles of the vulgar world. But if we can gain a full understanding of the vulgar world, we can attain enlightenment and cleanse our inner being. In this piece, the figures in the pond are serenely contemplating the vulgar world, like Zen practitioners detached from vulgarity. Even when facing trouble, they remain undisturbed, their souls unyielding and composed.