A void

In 2025, during my master’s in Contemporary Art Practice at the Glasgow School of Art, I initiated A Void, inspired by Sir Henry Raeburn’s Skating on Duddingston Loch. Observing how Raeburn’s thin pigment layers made the skating trace nearly imperceptible, I explored how viewing distance shapes perception. This led to my research question: to what extent can an artwork’s pigment be reduced? Using repeated pressing and lifting of masking tape, I transferred extremely thin pigment layers onto paper. At a critical thinness, the image seemingly “disappears” as faint colors blend with the paper, creating an experience between visibility and invisibility.

Media Showcase

The delicate and subtle nature of the A Void series makes its visual effect difficult to capture in a single photograph. Video offers a more effective way to present the works, allowing viewers to initially perceive almost nothing on the paper. As the camera gradually moves closer, the images slowly emerge, revealing their details.

Portfolio of Works

Overview of Experimental Techniques

Tape transfer, pressing technique

The tape adhesion method was inspired by a science channel’s introduction to single-layer carbon atoms and the Scottish tape technique, and it is currently my most frequently used approach. This method effectively controls the amount of pigment remaining on the paper. After approximately three rounds of pressing and lifting, the image almost entirely disappears from the surface.

Watercolour and Diluting

I am exploring watercolor as a creative medium. By carefully diluting the pigment, I can control its presence on the paper almost like a scientific measurement, yet the process differs from the tape method. Excess water tends to saturate the paper, causing warping, which calls for heavier-weight sheets. Unlike the tape technique, which subtracts pigment after drawing, watercolor reduces the pigment directly on the surface, offering a different form of “subtractive” expression. Despite these challenges, watercolor will be the primary medium in the next phase of my exploration.

Tape coverage

The tape overlay technique involves using tape itself to cover the image. The masking effect is limited, and washi tape does not provide a satisfying texture. Perhaps next time, I could experiment with different types of tape.