bubble tile

Year: 2020
Medium: sculpture and photography | silicon, pigment, piano finish taper wood base, metal print (dye-sublimation printing on aluminum)
Dimension: approx. 6 x 6 x 4½ in, including the base (sculpture), 11 x 17 in each (photography)

Fingerprints is a silicone sculpture that captures an imprint of my hand in an aim to reflect unrest in response to immigration and racism.

My name, 林嘉貞, was left behind in my native country of Taiwan the moment I entered the U.S. Customs and Border Protection building. I immediately became another person once I entered U.S. territory. In the U.S., I insisted on not having an easy-to-pronounce English name; instead, I kept my translated name, Jia-Jen Lin—which, however, has often been recognized to be Chinese due to the pinyin system I chose to use 19 years ago. Having my fingerprints taken at Customs represents my knowledge that I will always have to press my fingers harder; otherwise, the immigration system will not recognize me as a legal immigrant who has become an American citizen through naturalization.


Fingerprints

Photography, image from ongoing series, inkjet print, 58 X 37 cm, 2021

Untitled


The work consists of a grouping of 18 replicas of cosmetic containers, made of porcelain and screen-printed with fragmented images of the artist's eyes. Including these images, metaphorically, alludes to the idea of closing the eyes to stop seeing problems around.

Out of sight, out of mind

digital painting, digital drawing and collage 25 x 37" printed on archival paper

Box Breath

31 years have passed since the fall of the Berlin Wall. The political, ideological, and in some cases physical frontier not only divided Germany but the entire world into two axes; one of capitalist character and his nemesis, the communist.

Today the physical Wall does not exist, but there is an invisible one that continues to divide the country, and it can be measured in wages, infrastructure, education, unemployment; political and economic differences that tip the balance in favor of the West. 

A barrier that has been reinforced thanks to the global financial crises that have occurred in recent years, widening the gap between rich and poor, ending the so-called middle class.

The idea behind this work is to attest to this reality that is still in force today, through the study of the landscape, both urban and human, to show that division that is still latent between the western and eastern parts of Berlin, taking the German capital as an example of what is happening in the country.

"The Invisible Wall" Ernst-Thälmann-Park, Prenzlauer Berg, Berlin (2021) 

Acrylic, blowtorch,ashes,charred paper and printer/toner ink residue on board

64x60x3

2021

Murmuration II

14"x14" white canvas, white gesso base with bright and vibrant acrylic paints in abstract form. glossy finish

Shaping Up

Quiet harbour

Bonjour Tristesse, 2018

Immersive solo exhibition at Galerie Baull
Acrylic on wall

Berlin, Germany

Bonjour Tristesse

 Falling

Original abstract marbling art print, 30x20 inches, available as a matt, unframed print in various formats.
Worldwide shipping. I accept commissions and bespoke orders.
My art price range is: $95-450.

Abstract flames


This installation is based on a trail in the foothills of the Cascade Range near Seattle. There is a looping video along with an ambient soundtrack. The multiple painted panels vary in depth giving extra motion to the piece. The whole piece includes paintings, tv, and industrial media player.

oil on panel, video
101 cm x 244 cm

Boulder Loop Trail

Spruce, parsol, mirror, ratchet straps
6 columns - 120 x 30 x 30.8cm
Seen here at: Berlin Baustelle, De Cacaofabriek, Helmond, The Netherlands
Credits: Ben Raine
Photographs: Miriam Temme


We are, but separate entities, 2020

My work investigates the parallels between the action of painting and lived duration in order to reassign the boundaries of time as a construct. 
As part of an explorative body of work which investigates the potential of a non-linear timeline, Blue Is A Magic Number highlights a more playful and absurd side of my practice. 
My paintings seek to deconstruct notions of time which we accept without question. Why do we measure time in a quantitative fashion? Through altering the phrase 'Three is a magic number', to introduce a qualitative aspect (blue), I invite the viewer to consider my alternative perception of time, where time can be visual or physical. Replace 'three' in a sequence, a timeline, or a clock, with blue, and suddenly these constructs of time are nonsensical. 
A viewer singles out blue elements within this painting - they construct an image of 'blue' which replaces a linear aspect of their perception of time to create their own version of my visual timeline. They then begin to isolate other colours, considering the interrelationships between them. They are able to map out the sequence of time held within this painting.


Blue Is A Magic Number

Eternal Cycle 
Screenprint on Tulle, Cotton Thread, Polymer Clay, Resin
2020

Eternal Cycle is an installation and performance piece with five organ-like vessels each containing a shed skin. The body-skin structures are sewn with screen-printed tulle and are compressed into the vessels. The vessels are made from polymer clay and resin that capture the veracity of a reproductive organ. The installation is accompanied by a video performance demonstrating the action of taking the individual body out of the vessel and delicately hanging them like clothing. Through the performance, Eternal Cycle investigates the possibility of utilizing the time of difficulties as a way of growth and expansion.

Eternal Cycle

Estivate

August 2021, Botschaft der Argentinische Republik, Berlin, Germany. 

Entdecke Exhibition

“Sticky Notes” is part of my series “Syncope”.

Syncope (the medical term for “fainting” or “passing out”) explores the feeling of “being disoriented” and puts it into the context of our modern everyday life: Again and again, we lose track of what is happening around us – and when we concentrate the most, we often find ourselves thinking nothing at all. This metaphorical temporary loss of consciousness has become a daily companion for many people in our fast-paced society. Are we still able to focus in a world so full of stimuli? And how do we deal with it in the long run?

I drew my inspiration for the series from the people all around us – interpreting their behaviour and feelings in my own way. What I often see is how these people – for short moments of time – appear lost within their own thoughts. This is how the title “Syncope” finally came to life. 

“Sticky Notes” is one of the first images of the series – trying to show exactly this feeling of being overwhelmed by thoughts, responsibilities and notifications in a very literal way.

Sticky Notes

painted in 2019
oil on canvas
24x36 inches

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