Domestication
Pencil on paper
29×21 cm
2009-2013
Domestication has been a typical way for humankind to utilize natural resources. I view the internet world as the new nature today, and search the internet with a keyword combination of “animal + kiss” to embark on a virtual safari. When online search becomes safari, the images found on the internet become preys and downloading indicates capturing.
With the original pixel aspect ratio unchanged, the captured files are printed out, allowing digital images to enter the material world in their most primitive state. The white edges of the images, like self-imposed frames, symbolize the negative space hinting at the incomplete integration of the digital images in the material world. The “domestication,” in this case, means a process of drawing as the approach to draw the printed images on ordinary A4 paper, finalizing the reversed conquest over modern communication through the traditional form of hand-drawing. These images are shown in the simplest state (black-and-white print-outs), and the drawing is the plainest form of response (monochromatic sketching). Therefore, the images and the drawings become interwoven in the most minimal state. The carefully created drawings on the A4 paper seem like photocopies at first glance; however, a closer look will reveal that the granular ink dots have been replaced by pencil strokes—the domesticated animals might appear unchanged, but their nature has been disciplined and altered.
Unlike human oral contact, which has been socially perceived as an act of affection and friendliness, the oral contact between wild animals is mainly for exploring, feeding and cleaning. Kissing human being is in fact an act denying an animal’s natural instinct, and only domesticated animals can accurately control their muscles and reflexes to offer a kiss that express affection and amicability in the eyes of human beings. This seemingly gentle, insignificant touch serves as the evidence that an animal has become domesticated.
I have domesticated internet images, just like humans have domesticated animals.
