Shao Wenhuan (b. 1971) masterfully captures the poetic and pictorial sensibilities of traditional scholar ink painting in his photographic works. His monochromatic, mixed-media canvases evoke moments of suspended time—portals into ethereal landscapes and imagined gardens reminiscent of ancient China.
Since 2000, Shao has developed a unique photographic technique centered on gelatin—an essential substance in both Chinese painting (as pigment binder and sizing agent) and traditional Western photography. In classic black-and-white photography, for instance, microscopic silver particles are suspended in a gelatin layer on the paper surface.
Shao merges multiple negatives from distinct outdoor scenes, printing them onto canvas treated with a light-sensitive gelatin fixative in the darkroom. He often scratches or rubs parts of the negatives to achieve a weathered, timeworn aesthetic. Once printed, he further reworks the surface—painting with acrylics and incorporating traditional malachite pigment, evoking the blue-green mountains iconic in classical Chinese landscape painting.
As he explains, 'Today photography is an increasingly rapid, simplified process. I want to slow down and regain some of what is lost in the process; as I create, I try to explore the art of thinking.'
