Non-Human But Human

Bathing in Puli’s forests, taking in nature’s creation, Hsi-chi Wu throws himself into the environment with mountains as his surroundings, far away from the city. He lets his body and mind return to their original quiet state, using this as his energy, beginning on a painting journey. Throughout his creative process, Hsi-chi Wu continues to explore the subtleties of painting mediums, constantly trying to figure out unique artistic vocabulary, questioning the world through rustic life. From recent crayon artwork, we are able to see such. The friendliness and intuition that comes with crayons made up an imaginative and fantasy-like childhood for many people. This prompted Hsi-chi Wu to devote himself to exploring and regaining this strong oil medium, whilst carrying the purest soul, turning nature’s strength into the power of the pen, to carve his thoughts into the paper.

"When civilization relies on what seems to be strong, safe, beautiful, convenient, and prompt technology, this becomes the largest cage when trying to search for freedom and happiness of the human soul." - Hsi-chi Wu

People's emotions are like twisted pieces of thread, always fluctuating between different moods. In Hsi-chi Wu's paintings, whether portraits or landscape, are all connected by the same steady stroke of hand. This is an invisible technological signal, like a secret net that surrounds people's lives and even thoughts, broadening one’s thoughts and leading trends just like that of the internet. However, it also makes people blindly follow, indirectly imprisoning the mind. Does this phenomenon explain how human emotions are gradually pulled and bound to the same rhythm unconsciously, and if so will ever-changing waves and rolling hills become captive of human technology?

This humanly, yet also still presence; is it only a ghost created by the artist or is it how we appear after being soaked in the world of technology? Hsi-chi Wu proposed multi-angle views allowing viewers to re-examine their own behavior and the external environment, searching for nature’s fondest moments in the era of technological explosion. He uses nature throughout his artwork, evoking the innocence of childhood memories, with figures that seem youthful, yet, can one’s soul stay naïve and free in the face of the current 3C situation? The silence of a painting opens up more possibilities of speech. Hsi-chi Wu sincerely and delicately tells of the islands forests and mountains, reminding people that we are slowly losing this beautiful earth.