My practice explores the boundary between two and three dimensions. In Unit 1, I carved acrylic sheets and filled them with colored resin to create depth between transparency and solidity. However, these attempts remained confined by traditional painting habits—obsession with brushstrokes, control over composition, and the rectangular canvas frame. In Unit 2, I made a decisive break from these constraints.
Resin has become both a collaborator and a challenge in my work. During the creation of “Tilted Time”, unexpected cracks from demolding initially frustrated me but revealed the material’s capacity to transcend rigid planning. This moment was crucial for my embracing material agency. In my recent piece “Prismatic Fracture”, I allow poured resin to solidify into random forms within crumpled Mylar film before reassembling them into larger installations—balancing chaos and intentionality.
The reflective qualities of Mylar film became central to my practice after discovering its potential during the demolding process. Light passing through crumpled Mylar and resin creates reflections similar to metal, resulting in shifting layers of light and shade.
This interaction transforms the viewing experience as observers move through space, encountering shifting hues and refractions produced through material properties rather than digital manipulation.
Moving forward, I am abandoning painterly thinking entirely to focus on material expression and phenomenological experience. My next project for the MA show will use bigger installations to heighten visual and sensory impact, researching how light, transparency and reflection articulate the boundary between the physical and the ephemeral. Through this work, I aim to create immersive environments where viewers can contemplate the fluid boundaries between materiality and perception.
Jimmy Zheng 