“Continuum”, Dong Wensheng’s latest series, is comprised of 12 new unique black and white works that have been hand-colored to create this new chapter of experimental works. “Continuum” is an exploration the artist conducted using experimental darkroom techniques. Returning to the chemical and material roots of photography, the artist’s newest camera-less works become alchemic creations of time and space.
Playing with the viewer’s perspective, the resulting images resemble on the one hand the abstract and infinite depths of universal space and, on the other, microscopic structures of cellular biology. Like unexplored corners of the universe or the uncharted intricacies of microbiology, the possibilities of the artist’s creative ouvre even within the constraints of the medium of photography are also boundless. Deviating from other camera-less techniques like photograms, Dong Wensheng’s darkroom approach incorporates painting and writing with light as well as chemical treatment of the photographic paper.