Carla Chan & 'The Ashes of Snow'
*Archive Article: Originally published in the magazine Blacklisted Copenhagen
In just a little over two decades, our global society has made massive leaps forward in technology, but we have waded so far out into the digital ether, that there are now movements to cast out lifelines and reconnect us with the tangible and analog.
While for many years, anything that used digital mediums in a creative way became hot shit, but we are now looking at a world where so much digital media has been reworked, rethought, and repurposed that nothing is sacred anymore. Basically, trying to be a digital artist in today’s current climate is tantamount to trying to sell sausages in a hot dog convention-what you sell better be good, or it’s just white noise.
This is what piqued my interest in Berlin-based artist Carla Chan–who became known for her work with digital media but has since begun to evolve her processes to focus on more analog and tangible works.
In lieu of her newest collection of work, The Ashes of Snow, at Den Frie, I wanted to find out a little more about Chan’s origin story, why she has begun to make analog works more prominent in her collections and exhibitions, and how it has affected her process of working.
INTERVIEW
What prompted you to make the transition from halfway across the world and make your home in Berlin?
It has been a struggle to find the ideal space for creation. I am from Hong Kong, where mental and physical space is minimal. When the opportunity to apply for an art residency in Berlin became a reality, I decided to stay in Berlin and pursue my artistic creation.
Was it difficult re-establishing yourself in a new city and new culture?
Indeed, in the beginning, it was quite a difficult time for me. I didn’t know anybody in Berlin and did not speak German. I often found German culture very direct compared to Hong Kong culture. Berlin is also a city full of artists and is highly competitive. It has many distractions, so I had to learn to stay focused and fast.
The great thing is that here in Berlin, I met many very open-minded, accepting, and helpful people. That made all the struggle pass very quickly.
You have described your work as “toying with the blurred boundaries between reality and illusion, figure and abstraction.” Can you elaborate on this?
I am susceptible to certain micro-actions around me. I like observing small movements and details and then enlarging them with my imagination. This means most of my inspiration comes from actual actions and situations. I am not interested in transforming them directly, but at the same time, I wouldn’t say I like to make artwork that is too abstract, so my work can be cohesive and easily understood so that I can trace back what inspired me at first.
I like to play with the in-between situation. People can often guess what I am showcasing but at the same time. They are not sure about it—which allows more space for people to think and ask questions. This moment of ambiguity is what I find most interesting!
In your recent works, you have begun working with tangible physical objects (specifically with your most recent exhibition at Sexauer in Berlin) and pairing them with the more immaterial audio/visual work you are known for. Can you tell me about this?
Working in digital media is a very dry process. Before thinking about a creative process, you must master the new medium and a technological learning process – knowing the software and acquiring general computer skills. It is not a spontaneous act.
Unlike drawing and painting, there is often a lack of genuine emotion linking me to the outcome. I have missed specific spontaneous actions and real emotions in my recent work. And working with digital formats, you hardly create unique work. When work is digitized into 1’s and 0’s, it can always be copied.
Those are the main reasons I decided to return to work on a physical medium. At the same time, there are many digital components and computational thinking involved.
What was the process for developing this work? Was it different than your previous works?
Totally. I’m trying to find a fusion point between the analog and the digital, a physical touch that involves a computational understanding and process.
Will working with juxtaposing material and immaterial objects continue in your future works?
One of my big interests is the combination of different mediums. I am returning to where I started from a painting background and combining it with the digital art study.
I have recently been interested in time-based work, and I want to continue in this direction. I am working with video and combining it with physical, kinetic devices to achieve a specific time experience within my work. I start working with an idea and then with a medium—the point which inspires me and then develops with mediums that can best deliver my thoughts and emotions.
On that note, can you tell me about your work ‘The Ashes of Snow’ at Den Frie in Copenhagen?
The Ashes of Snow is a large real-time snowing installation. It’s a work tied to a personal encounter with a strong image that I saw. A snowy mountain was covered with layers of black carbon particles flying from a polluted factory.
At first, I found the image hearteningly beautiful, but after a closer look, sadness overcame me, related to the solution and human intervention in nature. The installation itself contains many snow particles which are dyed with thermochromic ink. The particles fall as white snow and slowly change to black, like ashes.
The snow becomes symbolic, giving the audience space to think deeply about this twisted situation, beauty, and pollution, creating a stage for destruction within the context of an inevitable situation.
How did you come about your research and concept development for this piece?
After seeing this memorable picture, I have been researching the topic of human intervention in nature and more polluted situations worldwide. I was shocked by the beauty of toxic nature—especially with many pictures of dyeing factories. The large amounts of chemical waste flushed into the rivers have created a landscape of poisonous beauty. I am working on an idea that can trigger this bitter feeling. And at the same time, it drops a hint of the sense of this dilemma of the human position as a catalyst to a polluted nature.
