Virtual!?
A declarative sentence is a statement of a fact or the speaker’s opinion. A period is usually used at the end of a declarative sentence.
Subjunctive mood is used for assumptions that are not factual or contrary to facts, in order to express the intention, emotion, and attitude of the speaker.
In Sylviye Lei’s “Echo” series from 2011-2014, the light and shadow extracted from general architecture are depicted in distinct separations of black and white, similar to abstract paintings, but in fact they are not. Lei draws a continuous highlight colour following the trajectory of light which runs through the whole painting. With this white light, one can deduce the basic structure of a building. The edges of the light strips are delicate gradient colours, which can show the traces of light gradually moving on the surface and at different angles, with which one can also deduct the texture of the building. The theme of this period of works is Light. It is the light extracted from the concrete world. The work is expressed as intense contrast, which is as strong as woodcut. Because of the concreteness of this daily architecture, it is conducive to comprehensions.
After a transitional period, Sylviye Lei 's works comes to the current Dimensional (次元) series. The term “次元”(dimensionality) is in Japanese, which carries the meaning of dimensions. Normal human perception can reach three or four dimensions. This part is easy to understand and communicate. According to general relativity, space is curved, and there may be wormholes for shortcuts from one galactic body to another. In the Dimensional series, Lei 's works have become more difficult to be recognised. His paintings no longer seem to have a specific and subtle daily object. The appearance of the painting is more of juxtaposed and inverted lines and the edges are defined by the outlines. It might appear that Lei is entering the field of abstract painting, but in fact it is not. Light is still Lei’s theme, but the architecture that can be traced before becomes the structure of the dimensional world, a new daily life is the reversal, distortion, parallel and intersection of the dimensional world. Lei still pays attention to the details of light, which is defining the rhythm of the world. In the Dimensional series, Lei relies more on warm and cold colours to express emotions and depth. The gradient of the original strong light edge is further expressed by colour tones, and the feeling is more delicate and changeable.
Lei’s works are currently painted on canvas and are two-dimensional, in which the depth of field is hypothetical, virtual, and this is one. The contemporary information society is weakening the boundary between reality and virtuality, and the two are converging. What Lei seems to describe is a dimensional virtual world, but in fact it is a reflection of the evolving reality, where he can find the rhythm of his life. It is hard to say whether this hypothesis is indeed hypothetical.
Therefore, we should add an exclamation mark to Lei’s works of the exhibition "Subjunctive Mood", as well as a question mark.
Curator
Zha Ba