Ink in Motion: the Art of Sio Ieng Ng

I have never heard of Sio Ieng Cindy Ng before her portfolio arrived at the Seattle Art Museum.  Like many portfolios that came before, Cindy’s portfolio included an artist’s statement, a CV and a review by a critic.  As usual, I skipped the credentials, and looked for the art.  I played her video art, titled No Limit, on my computer.  The moment I saw the ink flowing slowly across my computer screen, I was captivated by its simplicity and rhythmic power.  

In this video, the movement of the ink is gentle yet persistent, holding the viewer in suspense in anticipation of the inevitable blackening of the screen, only to be relieved by a spurt of water that momentarily dispersed the ink like smoke.  When water is injected slowly, it mixes with ink, tones it down, and forms layers of ink that show various degrees of viscosity.  The movements of ink and water affect their tension and harmony, which recall the correlative interdependence in yin-yang cosmology.  By the end of the video, what began as a routine curatorial process was transformed into an aesthetic experience that led to my decision to present Cindy’s work in the Seattle Art Museum.  

Since then, I have also learned more about the artist and source of this creation.  Years ago the routine of washing brushes became an illuminating moment when she observed the beauty of ink draining into the sink.  It was the desire to capture ink in motion that inspired her video series, in which ink was given a life of its own, unrestrained by the brush.  Through its pulsating flow and mixing with water that altered its tonality, forms and patterns emerged from the formlessness of ink.  These forms are best captured in her photographs and works on paper or canvas.  The Tree photo series is particularly compelling.  In contrast to the video series, the static photos convey a sense of timelessness.  Moreover, the contrast is not only between white and black, but also between light and darkness.  

Gloss is an important element of ink with which Cindy experimented in her works of ink on canvas.  She found that ink wash could be applied, in addition to rice paper, on canvases, a feat that many thought was impossible.  Having tried various canvases, she discovered a type of canvas that produced the best result.  When asked about the difference between ink on canvas and ink on paper, she explained, “canvas can show the gloss of ink.  When rice paper absorbs the ink, the gloss disappears into the fiber of the paper.  In sum, ink on paper showcases ink beneath the paper, whereas ink on canvas expresses ink on the fabric.”  The manipulation of light and shadow on canvas facilitates the depiction of three-dimensional forms, which may explain why the ink-on-canvas series appeared more representational than the ink-on-paper series.  Some canvases show contours of mountain ridges, rendering the work like a landscape painting.

From an art historical viewpoint, the artist has liberated ink from its subordination to the brush and from its longstanding obligation to render words and images.  To some, she may have violated the age-old indivisible combination of ink and brush, because she has shown that ink can be expressive on its own terms.  Nevertheless, her work on video, photography, rice paper and canvas suggests a trans-cultural approach to ink that ultimately expresses the inherent beauty of this fundamental medium in art.

                                                                                                                                                          Josh Yiu  Seattle Art Museum