Created By
Mediha Ting
Acrylic on canvas
Curator
Luke Chapman
In this piece, Mediha Ting engages in dialogue with Giuseppe Castiglione (Lang Shining, 郎世寧), the Italian Jesuit missionary and court painter who served the Qing Dynasty. The choice of the poppy as subject matter is particularly poignant, as it carries deep symbolic meaning in both Eastern and Western traditions. The technical execution demonstrates the precise botanical observation that Castiglione was known for during his time at the imperial court, while the contemporary medium and approach create a bridge across centuries. The dramatic isolation of the single flower against the dark ground reflects both European baroque influences and Chinese artistic principles of space and essence. The meticulous attention to the plant's natural structure, combined with the elegant simplicity of the composition, exemplifies how historical botanical painting traditions can be reimagined through contemporary artistic practices.
Dialogue through time with Giuseppe Castiglione (與朗世寧超時空對畫) 'Poppy Remembrance” (罌粟花懷念) is an acrylic painting on canvas featuring a single poppy flower rendered in golden linework against a deep black background. The composition shows the distinctive ruffled petals of the poppy in intricate detail, along with its characteristic drooping stem and serrated leaves. The work employs a negative space technique where the golden elements emerge from the dark ground, emphasizing the delicate texture of the poppy's petals and the architectural structure of the plant. The visible canvas weave interacts with the metallic pigments, creating subtle variations in the golden tones.
Created By
Mediha Ting
60 x 26 cm | 24 x 10 in
2022
