The Art of Impermanence by Samues Leung, 2015

The research explores how an appreciation of the beauty of Japanese aesthetics and aspects of Zen philosophy may be used to consider ideas of impermanence in the art making process of fine art context. Included into the investigation are considerations of the ideas of “consciousness” and “minimalism”, which come directly from my interpretations of the universal ideas relating to Wabi-Sabi.

The term and philosophies which Wabi-Sabi embraces centre around a holistic way of living and being in the world. Wabi-Sabi embraces ideas of incompleteness, beauty, solitude, imperfection and profundity in life and nature. It aspires to ideas of slowness and simplicity and ultimately authenticity, where the marks and gestures of the passing of time are accepted and revered.

Through my research, the “Zen”-related concept such as “Minimalism”, which encapsulates the idea of ‘redundancy’, and the ideology of “Solitude (“Sabi”) are explored and expressed in different media and contexts, by exploiting various processes and materials to the fullest, which echoes with the Aims and Rationale of my research. I have also drawn personal experiences from my own life as subject matters. There are precious moments where I stopped to reflect on my Research Questions, and tried to answer them with my art, which I have redirected from time to time, to align with my Research.