Jenny Zhang

“Jianzhi” (剪纸)

If I would start reflecting from the beginning of my life, I will consider myself a piece of paper. When I started paper-cuttings with a blunt scissor as a child, I felt the most explorative and creative. Compared to drawing and painting, paper-cuttings are real and solid which required a higher input of attention. The unexpected results and excitement for exploration make me work religiously, to see how creases, folds, cracks and notches are built up. The fact that traces will never fade makes me realize how similar it is to the living of a human being. Repeating life cycles, experiences and their projection into the future, are all being unfolded on a piece of paper. Using a scissor or knife to cut on paper is not just a simple recall of memories or creation of decorative images, but the thinking and refining of those irreplaceable, unforgettable, and unchangeable traces, to express in the same profound way.My work explores self-identities, human relationships, and cultural connections through a modern manifestation of traditional paper-cuttings. As a Canadian-born Chinese, I had the chance to reflect on a multicultural experience featuring the aesthetics of Chinese painting and Indigenous art. I also reflect on personal experiences from a first-person perspective, and family stories from a third-person perspective to discover the value and method of cultural inheritance from multiple perspectives. As a result, I have developed a unique stylistic approach that blends reduplicated abstract patterns and detailed realistic drawings. The newest work is a series of paper-cuttings that consists of two different styles of work, one is window flowers (窗花) the other is carved papers(刻纸). While window flowers delivered the philosophy of life through its process, carved papers extracted the details and presented them in concretized interconnecting patterns. The two separated sides of the work support the expression of each other, like the cover and pages of a book, or the floors and walls of a room – they are constructed from the same starting point yet extended to different dimensions. This specific body of work intended to encourage a conversation between humans and nature, past and present, as well as East and West. The traditional forms of paper-cuttings have been adapted to a contemporary subject matter and a storytelling that combines linear and non-linear narratives. The viewers can find stories that carry through different pieces in time order but also fragment of events that is out of order, employing flashbacks to emphasize the echo from the past and the looping, chaotic qualities of memory. It is also a conversation between conflicting and contrasting elements, with a blurred barrier between abstracted and realistic forms. The title of the work is “Jianzhi” (剪纸) which means “Paper-cuttings”, emphasized the cultural value of artform and actions in the working process. Considering the complexity and richness of the content, the title intended not to give a fixed definition of what is being conveyed, but to leave space for interpretations and imaginations.