Artwork Appreciation
SHI Jin-Hua has focused on perceptive and behavioral art in his artistic carrier. Pen Walking is a representative series of his work. To SHI Jin-Hua, the pencil provides a representation of life. The varying weight of the pencil marks and the irregular trails depict an individual’s life, while the ever shortening pen serves as a metaphor of our lifespan. In Pen Walking #43, SHI Jin-Hua used pencils as a media to create short diagonal lines at different intervals making one step at a time along the canvas, depositing layers upon layers of formations that ultimately form a mountain range. The shaky and twisted trails symbolize the rise and fall we all have experienced in our lives. SHI Jin-Hua has used this artistic endeavor as a means of exploring and documenting the true nature of life, and Pen Walking serves as a reflection for the destination of our current incarnation.