Once he has spoken of himself to you, analysis begins……
- Jacques Lacan

Although initially the “Mirrored Image” is used as assistance in certain stages of “self identification” in the Mirror Stage theory of Lacan, it is more a function, with a sort of “launch – return – identify” purpose. Before the invention of the mirror, not a single person had the experience of seeing themselves in front of one; yet after the invention of the mirror, still not everybody could have a childhood with this kind of experience, so lakes and basins of water played this part in the mirroring phenomenon. Lacan is precisely pointing out the mirroring function under this type of scenario. In mirroring situations of Lacan’s “Mirror Stage”, the essentials are the function of, and the relationship between, the mirror, the object and the image inside the mirror. We must set up a similar function for artistic creations, being: the painting, the painter, and the painter’s image.

 In recent years, there has been an uprising of new artistic thinking with regards to the characteristics of mirrored images. On one hand, reverting back to traditional sentiments from a purely material level, according to the ‘contextual’ relationship, could unite or divides the thinking of the occasion; on the other hand, when the artist is facing a social community with special characteristics, this allows him to avoid having to argue with, or be restrained by the traditional external characteristics of form, and along with presenting himself, he is able to maintain dialogues with both social and historic cultures. 

Each person has a different circumstance in life, and so the mirror reflects differently for each person. For image-sensitive people, the mirrored image thus becomes another medium of expression of their status in life. In the artists’ self-proclaimed reasonable mirror, this will express the artist’s own standing in life. The ‘truth’ in the mirrored image will become the ‘truth’ in life. It is also worth mentioning that the shape of the mirror itself is strange, which is bound to lead to a complex and ambiguous mirrored image. In addition, there are also occurrences of exaggeration, repetition, distortion, hallucination and other such concepts. However, whether it’s one’s mirrored image, or the face that everybody else sees, the essence of the image is in fact the result of some small perversion; in this unprecedented violent relationship the fake self is established through the thoughts of a ‘narcissistic’ pseudo-identity. However, the mirror image is fundamentally virtual, and is immaterial. People can see it, sense its presence, but cannot touch it nor lay a hand on its material. This immateriality determines that the mirrored image is used as a medium to encourage similar trains of thoughts: the witness, response, and identification from the immaterial aspect of a form rather than from the traditional pure material characteristics of a painting.

 The works of the painter Jin-Cao Feng have a power for exceeding thought. The artist’s reflexive personality combined with the exploration into and the contradiction between reality and fantasy makes him an extraordinary but contemporary and modernist artist. The interweaving of illusions and facts seem to be very absurd, however upon a closer inspection, it is clearly the shadow of the real world. Feng’s artistic creations fundamentally serves to put the present in the mirrored image of the future, thus creating a comparatively integrated stage on which the two parts mingling together form a whole together, each inseparable from the other.

Black and White

 Know the white, yet keep to the black: be a model for the world.
- Lao Tse

Humans survived for a long time in the natural world, working when the sun rises, resting when it sets, so these kinds of set blacks and whites became the foundation of our visual senses, and is the most straightforward experience that mankind have with the world. Black is the uncivilised dark chaos, whilst white the vent through which Pangu severed the chaos, black-and-white is Yin and Yang, the Earth and the Sky, and everything. In actual fact black-and-white serves as both sides of a contradiction. Black-and-white is not just colour, it has a core part in the concept of the universe. Know the white, yet keep to the black; “black ink as colour”, it always accompanies the development of the thoughts of Chinese philosophy and Buddhism, gradually becoming an independent system of art appreciation.
The main thematic plane which is created by “Back and White” shows a monochromatic style of painting, similar to the behaviour of a ‘mime’ on the stage, it is a simple and constrained style, a kind of silent but nonetheless abundant and complete artistic behaviour. “Black and White” is a token of the real world, as well as encompassing it. “Black and White” is independent from the light and shadow of nature, but it also depends upon it. The creation of black and white paintings is in reverence to the real world. The white part on the painting is an invisible structure, the main theme of which will be completed by the psychological environment of each viewer under the instinctive guidance of the psyche. This picture needs the psychological space of the viewer to fluctuate between being able to see and unable to see the painting, and thus create the feeling and experience of being part of the art. This style of artistic experience is similar to that of standing in a sunlit setting whilst looking in a dark corner and its shadows. In nature these shadows have both intentional and unintentional movement, on walls and on the ground they are ever-changing, dividing, connecting, moving, unmoving. This type of unending natural power is insurmountable by mankind. At the same time, the creator must become the questioner and the performer.

In painting, the most important encouragement is to maintain the theme of the painting. The outside visual formation of “Black and White” is accentuated by light, and allows the rays of light to present it’s makeup in the darkness. The painter will also obtain a rational form of process under this. Feng’s path of creation started with an abundance of colours and arrives at a calm monotony, from a faithful representation to one riddled with suspicion, from a traditional realistic viewpoint to a modernistic realistic viewpoint, causing his recent art to contain a different cultural significance. However, this is where Feng has taken the initiative to adhere to the rational judgments and cultural criticisms of products in different situations. Different generations and cultural contexts instigate the same decisions in the inner psyche of the artist, albeit these decisions are subconscious. It is precisely on this note that the tonality of “Black and White” has played an important part in the artistic practice of analytical artists in modern China all along.

Painters must constantly refer to the accumulation of paintings and illustrations of those that had come before them in order to conspire to create pieces of their own. Feng is no exception; his paintings are thick with the amassed paint and profundity of other paintings; combined with the pure and rich composition of his pictures, this creates a forceful realm. Feng used the charm of “Black and White” to its utmost in his newest pieces. Not only does he excel in controlling the stability and the tension in the picture, but he also exceeds in the Chinese techniques of Tsun and line drawing. The meticulous and carefully layered face of the painting and the composition of the painting are both strong, and the interaction between the murky “Black” and the speckled “White” is in a manner that is extraordinary. He uses his “Black and White” paintings to consciously explain, epitomise and deduct a take on the world; further completing the formation of a cultural and theoretical thought system. As the use of “Black and White” exceeds the narrow limitations of using colour, so it rises to a higher and deeper level, and furthermore it becomes a symbol of the most typical form of philosophical ideas.

The inner agenda and composition of Feng’s newest collection has already convinced people of its artistic capacity. It is very obvious that he himself has realised that for many artists the most vital question is that the spirit behind the painting does not point to an empty and lacking perception and the superficiality which led to the conception of this work of art. Without a doubt Feng has contributed a fresh example to the formation of spirit and ideas behind paintings.