Xiangyin “Tom” Gu
About
X Tom Gu works primarily in photography as well as writing and installation. Concentrating on modern-day human condition and self-expression, Tom's work tackles the concept of self and others in the context of modern life. Regarding daily practices as signs and symbols that resonate with public psychology situation, he shoots various footages and combine assorted archival materials to find the patterns behind universal problems related to family and self-consciousness across generations. Always critical of public opinions and diverse categorization of contemporary images, Tom uses his work to help people understand varied human conditions and approach philosophical issues while prioritizing his goals over different genres.
In 2022, X is going to further pursue his MSc in Psychology after graduation. It is his greatest ambition to combine his pharmaceutical background, photography practices and psychological visions altogether in art. Here below exhibiting online is a preview of his latest book Gestalt Lost in Time, which is also shown as a more detailed version on his website.
Statement
Birds stopped
mid in the air.
Now it’s there,
at present,
intervals bring illusions and visions.
It is not there,
we could only guess
its next position,
its next juncture
and its next presence.
Like
a spoon of sugar sprinkled into
the boiling water,
hereon any moment of it
can not be dispensed.
Everything
in this world combines
into a large monad,
here isolation of the individuals
is merely hypothesis out of convenience.
Like
webs of the spiders,
connections of being spray out
intricately yet obediently,
adhering all their prey.
like a spoon of sugar by X Tom Gu (2021)
Gestalt Lost in Time
Karenin was not overjoyed by the move to Switzerland. Karenin hated change. Dog time cannot be plotted along a straight line; it does not move on and on, from one thing to the next. It moves in a circle like the hands of a clock, which—they, too, unwilling to dash madly ahead—turn round and round the face, day in and day out following the same path. In Prague, when Tomas and Tereza bought a new chair or moved a flower pot, Karenin would look on in displeasure. It disturbed his sense of time. It was as though they were trying to dupe the hands of the clock by changing the numbers on its face.
Milan Kundera
Fragmented Ocean
Nothing can be forced to live.
The earth is like a drug now, like a voice from far away,
a lover or master. In the end, you do what the voice tells you.
It says forget, you forget.
It says begin again, you begin again.
Louise Glück
Medium: images contained in rice paper
Size: 2000 x 2000 mm, sliced into equally sized squares
In Collaboration with:
- Yucun Meng
Many thanks to Yucun Meng's help during installation which made this piece come into being.