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Flesh is the prison of the soul
1997-2000
BY
CHEN Wen-Chi
Flesh is the prison of the soul
1997-2000
lightjet-c-print
Flesh is the prison of the soul
1997-2000
lightjet-c-print
Flesh is the prison of the soul
1997-2000
lightjet-c-print
Flesh is the prison of the soul
1997-2000
lightjet-c-print
Flesh is the prison of the soul
1997-2000
lightjet-c-print
Flesh is the prison of the soul
1997-2000
lightjet-c-print
01 / 10

Following the death of a beloved sadness flooded over my heart but the absurdity of the also concept of sorrow. Why be sorrowful?
Being alone in the dark room my emotion got stirred .You can feel my infinite insecurity when you see the scrubbed emulsion side of the negative;and how severely it alters the photograph. Beyond my expectations, this technique illustrated the boundless contradictions. Alone with the damaged negative , “baptized” as in a religious ceremony, I am ready for the salvation.

While dancing with the light incurred via the burnt cross, the “cut” body is the hotel for the insecure soul, resting is for the move.
When I think about the translating my idea, the human body is the shell of the flesh, most of all, the embodiment of the imagination.

“Flesh is the prison of the soul” said Neo-Plantonic.
This idea enlightens my works…..
I simply recorded it .

These series of work were created form 1997 to 2000.The body looks fragmented. The shape which is dissolved in the light and shadow in my photography expresses philosophy of life and existence.

I learned about the philosophy of Platoism when I was a junior in the University .It gave me the chance to get in touch with the “Light” in Platoism, because I chose the issue of “Light” questions in my painting as the topic for my art. The Plotinus’ Mysticism and Platoism were synthesized by Marsilio Ficino’s in the fifteenth century. There are significant similarities between Ficino’s idea and Transmigration .His theory elaborates that “Flesh” is only the prison of the soul, but the soul is seeking the absolvent. The absolvent is reposed from “Love”, and to transmit the “Love” from God is “Light”.

Photography records the transmission of light .My work is transmitting the soul which yearns toward the freedom of light. I intend to have my work viewed at a distance the audience to create the visual effect. In order to achieve this kind of impression, I use sand paper and a knife to scrub the negative, to change the emulsion structure before the negative is exposed ,and I utilize alcohol for filling and leveling the fissured emulsion.

On completional these processes, I rewind the undeveloped film to prepare it for exposure film. All of these Processes have to be done in a whole dark space .For me ,the procedure of scrubbing the negative soaking it in alcohol resembles a ritual ceremony. These films finished in the ceremony were like a whole new body to accept the soul’s ( the images) coming.

This ritual-like procedure in the process of film-developing is very important for my creative concept. Being alone in the dark room enables me to imagine the state of the after-life. It can help me to truly experience the fantasy of death when I do the same action again and again ,which can produce unknown fear and power.

When the negative emulsion absorbs the light, the soul seems to find a shell in which to rest. When I use the knife to shape image in the exposure negative, the soul gets the real freedom at this moment.

ARTISTS
8 artworks / 66 exhibition
Photographic Art
Chen Wen-Chi, b.1969, Taiwan, is an artist and currently the Chairman of the department of Communication Design at the Shih Chien University. Works have been invited to numerous solo and group exhibitions around the world including, USA, Italy ,Ja ...
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KEYWORDS
CHEN Wen-Chi, 2014, Photographic Art
CHEN Wen-Chi, 2012, Photographic Art
CHEN Wen-Chi, 2002-2003, Photographic Art
CHEN Wen-Chi, 2000-2001, Photographic Art
CHEN Wen-Chi, 2010, Photographic Art
CHEN Wen-Chi, 2008, Photographic Art
CHEN Wen-Chi, 2005-2007, Photographic Art