Weng Jhen Ling
Weng Jhen-Ling primarily employs copperplate etching as her medium, and her works aim to explore the extraordinary within the ordinary. She adopts a layout akin to a stage set, blending imagery from the “Eighteen Levels of Hell”, and breaks the linearity of time and space by juxtaposing the internal soul, external image, and even projections and desires. This creates a surreal, dream-like world filled with dark humor, strangeness, and the bizarre.
These seemingly unrelated figures, through their actions and gazes, appear to form new narratives. As the viewer attempts to categorize and construct storylines within the work, they gradually uncover inherent contradictions, voids, and moments of intrigue.
“For me, copperplate etching resonates with the 'inner wounds' within myself. On a smooth copperplate, after applying a resist, the image etched onto the plate feels like I’m cutting into a wound of the soul. After being corroded by the acid, the plate is no longer smooth and shiny, symbolizing the contradiction I feel between my external image and inner self.” — Weng Jhen-Ling, Artist's Statement.