Through her work, CHANG Ching Wen aims to convey the mixture of feelings like loneliness, memory and pandemic anxiety found in modern people through the portrayal of inorganic landscapes using materials such as Japanese washi paper, Sumi ink, suihi and mineral pigment. In her current practice, she’s focusing on daily life motifs like windows and rooms.
The person who inspired Chang was a Japanese philosopher and writer, Kiyoshi Miki. In one of his quotes, “Loneliness is not found in the mountains, but the street. Loneliness is not found within the individual but between the crowds.” Chang sees the windows as the exits and entrances of people, while each window has its own story and each room is a space where memories, loneliness and anxiety gather. The mundane scenery like school corners and house rooms are shielded with memories and emotions even when no one is present. Therefore, Chang uses an almost claustrophobic composition of a closed space to create a scene that overflows with her narrative.