明日下午2點，藝術家林文的最新個展「捆仙繩 Rope Binding Immortals」將在BFM藝術中心正式開幕。此次展覽匯聚了林文老師近年來的精品力作，將為觀眾帶來一場視覺與心靈的雙重震撼。
「捆仙繩」這一展覽主題靈感源自中國古代的神話故事，象征著神秘而強大的力量。在林文老師的作品中，這一富有想象力的神話符號被賦予了全新的內涵，它不僅暗合了藝術家以往作品中反復出現的「困境」主題，更透過這一古老的神話元素，深刻揭示了當代人精神深處的虛妄暗面。
林文老師表示，他希望透過這次展覽，引導觀眾穿透影像的軀殼，深入繪畫的內部，去捕捉那些閃爍的靈光。這是一個既富有挑戰性又充滿探索樂趣的過程，也是藝術創作的魅力所在。每一幅畫作都蘊含著深刻的思想內涵和藝術價值。同時，展覽還將透過專業的解讀和導覽，幫助觀眾更好地理解作品背後的故事和寓意。
影像背後的時代困境與不安
The Dilemma and Unease of the Times Behind the Images
——林文新作觀感
文\李國華
無論是最早的「寒床」系列，還是木板、舊物、門框和皮毛等新材料的使用，再到最近又完全回歸布面繪畫的「復身」、「捆仙繩」系列，在時代不斷改變下，個體遭遇的沖擊以及因此引發的精神困境始終是藝術家林文繪畫創作中最重要的母題。只是在近期的創作之中，藝術家逐步將關心的主體，從自我轉向了大眾與群體。這讓藝術家的作品擁有了更多的公共性與社會意識，也讓他的創作走出了青春的情緒，走向了一個全新的藝術階段。
<蹤跡 1> Trace 1
32X42CM*2|2019
舊地毯上繪畫
Painting On Old Carpets
作為一位1989年初出生的青年人，林文成長於互聯網和全球化意識的不斷加強時期的中國。虛擬世界、數位技術、人工智慧，是這個時代年輕人不斷遭遇的話題，也是他們觀察社會和探究世界真相的重要通道。從一開始，林文就不斷從互聯網資訊中尋找到自己感興趣的內容：公園裏花式鍛煉的老年人、使盡渾身解數的搞怪UP主、眾多圍觀事件發生的現場……這些貌似日常而又普通的場景，成為了藝術家筆下描繪的重要物件。因為在藝術家看來，這些被他尋找到的物件，都被籠罩在了一種莫名的情緒之中——因為這些源於真實的社會場景，背後卻透露出種種荒誕和魔幻感。特別是這些人群中的個體，在貌似滿足、亢奮的表情下，卻有孤獨與不適感不斷傳遞而出。因為看似自由而散漫的他們，卻似乎總是被一種力量所控制，無法抗拒、無法超脫！這種感受源於當下眾多普通人特別是年輕人的生活感受。他們一方面充滿朝氣與活力，但另一方面又無時不刻地遭遇經濟困局、輿論控制與精神壓抑。雖然他們其中的一批人，可以選擇「躺平」的方式進行對抗，但大部份人無法逃避，只能在這樣的「修昔底德陷阱」中不斷掙紮，並因此造成了種種現代精神病竈的誕生。
<自畫像>Self-Portrait
82X128CM|2022
仿制皮草上 綜合材料繪畫尼龍繩
Comprehensive Mateirals On Fur
而面對科技的發展，特別是人工智慧的快速發展，對人類精神主體的侵占與剝奪，以及因此引發的擔憂，也在林文近期的繪畫中得到了體現。我們會發現，一些科幻劇裏具有強烈未來異世感的場景出現在了藝術家的畫面之中。在這些畫面裏，人的面部開始模糊，並總是呈現出一種呆滯的神情，人類的面部也時常也會被一些莫名的器械或者身體的其他器官所取代。同時，四肢與形體動作也開始顯得怪異與僵化，人似乎早已被科技控制或者被其異化。正如手機正在成為我們不可或缺「身體器官」，也如無處不在的監控以及演算法給觀眾不斷投餵喜好的影像與視訊資訊（無論真假），人類的生活已經被這些科技手段切割得千瘡百孔，精神世界自然也無法逃避，由此人類的自主性不斷遺失，並逐步喪失了對現狀和未來的判斷力。藝術家對此表現出了強烈的隱憂與不安！
<復身 7>Duplicate 7
60X150CM|2023
布面油畫Oil On Canvas
當然，在林文的這批新作中，我們也能夠感受到藝術家在繪畫本體語言中的一些重要轉變。首先，他放棄了一部份肉身的感知，轉而尋求觀念的力量——我們可以發現，新作中的眾多場景，往往是藝術家刻意與精心編織而成，而並非完全出於感性的沖動或者生理性的情緒體驗；寫實的繪畫手法也進行了調整，更多象征主義被運用於畫面，整體風格也呈現出了某種抽象化的傾向。正如在「捆仙繩」系列中，我們看到了各種形體狀態的人和繩索的結合，它們的形象不再具像化，而是在不斷虛化和曖昧空間中，逐漸融為了一體。人似乎被繩索所困，無法脫離，也因此人的真實肉身與精神都處在了存在與非存在的狀態之中，人的意識似乎雖然尚在，但肉身已經無法動彈。正如藝術家使用古代神話中可以困住神仙的「捆仙繩」，來暗喻被困住的人類。而這既源於藝術家年齡增長和社會閱歷豐富後帶來的改變，他逐步走出了青春的迷茫，人生有了具體而現實的目標；又與藝術家長期關註，但又一直無法得到答案的問題有關：人究竟如何才能走出自我與社會共同造就的精神困境！
<捆仙繩 3>
Rope Binding Immortals 3
200X100CM|2024
布面油畫Oil On Canvas
對繪畫材料以及繪畫語言創新的濃厚興趣也促成了藝術家新作的形成。面對當下這個影像泛濫的時代，繪畫正在進入一個尷尬的狀態，一方面它要面對其他藝術形式的沖擊，另一方面繪畫內部影像創造力的枯竭，也成為了現實，不斷出現的繪畫抄襲事件就是例證。因此，如何在畫面中創造一種全新的陌生感，這種陌生感既要有別於自己的過去，又要有別於現實，有別於其他畫家，從而找到一條全新的當代繪畫之路，是林文一直努力突破的課題。也正因為有這樣的追求，他不斷在題材和繪畫語言上的進行創新，並堅持運用繪畫去回應時代造就的深層次的精神困境。雖然，這樣的行動，在當下這個復雜時代，並不一定能夠帶來改變！但我們可以相信的是，與那些只是帶來簡單視覺愉悅的藝術相比，林文繪畫中的不安與改變，才是當下與未來我們所要面對的真實！因為我們相信，不管藝術在社會中被安排或者扮演何種角色，真正的藝術應當為人類提供理想的願景和對現實的反思。與介入錯綜復雜的現實利益相比，藝術真正關切的東西應當更多是自身創造性、啟示性與批判性，這些隱藏在表象和現實之後的元素才是藝術最為重要的東西！
<捆仙繩 6>
Rope Binding Immortals 6
150X100CM|2024
布面油畫Oil On Canvas
Whether it is the earliest "Cold Bed" series, the use of new materials such as wooden boards, old objects, door frames and skins, or the recent return to canvas paintings, "Reincarnation" and "Binding Rope" series, Lin Wen's paintings have always been the most important themes in his works, as the times keep changing. Under the ever-changing times, the impact on the individual and the resulting spiritual dilemma have always been the most important themes in Lin Wen's paintings. It is only in his recent creations that the artist has gradually shifted his concern from the self to the public and the community. This makes the artist's works more public and socially conscious, and allows his creations to get out of the youthful mood and move towards a brand new artistic stage.
As a young man born in early 1989, Lin Wen grew up in China during a period of increasing awareness of the Internet and globalization. The virtual world, digital technology, and artificial intelligence are topics that young people in this era are constantly encountering, and they are also an important channel for them to observe society and explore the truth of the world. From the very beginning, Lin Wen has been searching for what he is interested in from the information on the Internet: elderly people exercising in parks, weird UP masters doing their best, and many onlookers watching the events on the scene ...... These seemingly daily and ordinary scenes have become important objects depicted by the artist. Because in the artist's view, these objects he searched for are shrouded in a kind of inexplicable emotion - because these social scenes originated from the real, but behind the scenes reveal all kinds of absurdity and a sense of magic. Especially the individuals in these crowds, under the seemingly contented and exuberant expressions, there is a sense of loneliness and discomfort constantly passing out. Because they seem to be free and loose, but they always seem to be controlled by a force that they cannot resist or transcend! This feeling stems from the life feelings of many ordinary people, especially young people, at the moment. On the one hand, they are full of vigor and vitality, but on the other hand, they are always encountering economic hardship, public opinion control and spiritual depression. Although a group of them can choose to "lie flat" to fight against it, most of them can't escape from it, and can only struggle in such "Thucydides' trap", which has resulted in the birth of all kinds of modern mental foci.
And the encroachment and deprivation of human spiritual subjects in the face of technological development, especially the rapid development of artificial intelligence, and the concerns arising therefrom, are also reflected in Lin Wen's recent paintings. We will find that some scenes from sci-fi dramas with a strong sense of futuristic otherworldliness appear in the artist's images. In these images, human faces are blurred and always show a dull look, and human faces are often replaced by some inexplicable instruments or other organs of the body. At the same time, the limbs and body movements also begin to look strange and rigid, people seem to have been controlled by technology or alienated by it. Just as cell phones are becoming an indispensable "body organ", and as ubiquitous surveillance and algorithms feed viewers preferred images and video information (whether real or fake), human life has been cut to pieces by these technological means, and naturally, the spiritual world is inescapable, resulting in the loss of autonomy and the gradual loss of awareness of the present and the future. As a result, human beings are losing their autonomy and gradually losing their ability to judge the present and the future. The artist expresses a strong sense of worry and uneasiness about this!
Of course, we can also sense some important changes in the artist's ontological language in these new works. First of all, he gives up part of his physical perception and seeks the power of conception instead - we can find that many scenes in his new works are often deliberately and carefully woven by the artist, not entirely out of sensual impulses or physiological emotional experiences; the realistic painting technique has also been adjusted, with more symbolism applied to the paintings, and the overall style is also presented in a more realistic way. The realistic painting techniques have also been adjusted and more symbolism has been applied to the paintings, and the overall style shows a certain tendency of abstraction. As in the "Rope to Bind the Immortal" series, we can see the combination of various forms of people and ropes, their images are no longer figurative, but are gradually merged into one in the ambiguous space of continuous vaporization and ambiguity. The human being seems to be trapped by the rope, unable to get out of it, and therefore the real body and spirit of the human being are in the state of existence and non-existence, and the human being's consciousness seems to be still there, but the body is no longer able to move. Just as the artist uses the ancient mythological "Immortal Binding Rope", which can trap the immortals, as a metaphor for the trapped human beings. This is not only due to the changes brought about by the artist's age and rich social experience, as he has gradually come out of his youthful confusion, and has a concrete and realistic goal in life; it is also related to the question that the artist has long been concerned about but has not been able to get an answer to: how can human beings get out of the spiritual dilemma created by the ego and the society together!
The keen interest in painting materials and the innovation of painting language also contributes to the formation of the artist's new works. In the face of the present era of image flooding, painting is entering an awkward state, on the one hand it has to face the impact of other art forms, on the other hand the depletion of image creativity within painting has become a reality, as exemplified by the constant emergence of plagiarism in painting. Therefore, how to create a brand-new sense of strangeness in the picture, which is different from one's own past, as well as from reality and other painters, so as to find a brand-new path of contemporary painting, is the subject that Lin Wen has been striving to break through. Precisely because of this pursuit, he continues to innovate in subject matter and painting language, and insists on utilizing painting to respond to the deep spiritual dilemmas created by the times. Although such actions may not necessarily bring changes in this complex era! But what we can believe is that, compared to art that only brings simple visual pleasure, the restlessness and change in Lin Wen's paintings are the realities that we have to face now and in the future! Because we believe that no matter what role art is assigned or plays in society, true art should provide mankind with ideal visions and reflections on reality. Instead of intervening in the intricate interests of reality, the real concerns of art should be more about its own creativity, revelation and criticality, and these elements hidden behind appearances and reality are the most important things in art!
——Li Guohua
