Peony Pavilion_auspicious snow

作品賞析

This weaving composition, Peony Pavilion: Auspicious Snow, is one of artist Lee Chen-Ling’s “Wandering in a Garden” series, the theme of which focuses on Chinese gardens and classical literature. Since the jacquard weaving method she uses first appeared in the Ming Dynasty, the series uses as its background the Ming Dynasty play The Peony Pavilion. The play’s heroine Du Liniang expresses her admiration of the spring scenery in the garden. But in the end, it is all scenery confined in the garden. It corresponds to the artist, immersed in weaving all day long, trying to make breakthroughs, but barriers remain. The picture’s foreground and middle ground are both a vast expanse of white snow, and a path is vaguely visible, while the deep blue mountains in the distance have no jagged profile, making them like a confining wall. But the blue-green color block below, hinting at the plants that are about to emerge, symbolize the vitality that is coming at the cold winter’s end. Although there are no specific garden symbols such as latticed windows and black tiles, the square composition is characteristic of Chinese garden landscaping. The light orange color areas and blue mountains form a color contrast, and texture is used to highlight the media.