CRITICAL REFLECTION
During the Unit 1 practice, I found that the appropriation and reconfiguration of visual materials were effectively executed. The narrative logic within the images, as well as the overall coherence and completion of the works, were satisfactory and aligned with my initial intentions.
In Unit 2, I began to realize the need to further refine the narrative structure. At the same time, I re-examined the contradictory qualities of the airbrush medium within my work. The airbrush offers a blurred, smooth texture that, in many ways, mimics the screen with remarkable efficiency—this very quality is what draws me to it. However, I also noticed that an excessive simulation of screen-like effects, combined with the use of masking tape to divide the image, unintentionally diminished the painterly qualities of the work. This led me to make specific improvements in Unit 2, focusing on restoring the painting’s material presence while enhancing its narrative depth.
For narrativity, I need to enhance the logic of hyper-narrative in the imagery— work can form different high-energy complex narratives in people's minds. The selection of source imagery still adheres to the principle of using hyper- flow, simulacra visuals, which supports the core of my interest in post-narrativity. After engaging with a wide range of narrative-based comics, I realized that integrating compositional strategies from manga could enrich the narrative dimension of my paintings.
I was particularly inspired by the exaggerated two-dimensional narrative effects found in the latest generation of Japanese manga. I acquired and studied a large number of manga volumes and observed that even when flipping through a random volume—without prior context or understanding of the Japanese language—the visual storytelling remains accessible and emotionally compelling. Characters often have various expressions，The special storyboard structure, dialogue boxes and exaggerated text make different scenes and different characters full of narrative meaning on the same page. In Unit 2, I drew extensively on these techniques to strengthen the narrative structure within my own visual language.
My practice primarily involves the study of new narratives, specifically through the flexible use of high-recognition, multi-functional screen simulacra images to construct an organic hyper-narrative machine.
Three clips from Japanese anime
In particular, the use of irregular, tilted, and variably sized panels functions as a primary narrative device. Occasionally, key visual elements are positioned as the topmost layer, cutting across all frames—this technique not only clarifies the narrative flow but also compels the viewer to read these elements as central protagonists. Dialogue boxes—whether strictly structured or intentionally irregular—often go unnoticed, yet they are vital to narrative cohesion. Through repeated experimentation, I discovered that even when these dialogue boxes contain no actual text, their visual presence alone significantly strengthens the narrative connections between figures and their surroundings.
In Unit 1, textual elements primarily served as conveyors of information. However, through my engagement with manga, I came to understand that text—when treated as pure imagery—can function as simulacra. This realization led me to introduce Japanese characters, which I do not understand, into my Unit 2 works. Alongside Chinese and English text, Japanese became one of the visual components of narrative construction.
In my Unit 2 projects, text operates as a narrative image: floating on top of imagery, embedded within dialogue boxes, hyper-legible or deliberately obscured, and in the form of onomatopoeia rendered across layers. These textual elements function differently depending on the viewer’s cultural background. By stripping them of their conventional role in communication, I repositioned them as tools of narrative induction. Thus, in Unit 2, I refined my use of panels, dialogue boxes, text, and visual layering—drawing directly from manga’s formal strategies—to construct a more complex and culturally fluid narrative structure.
In terms of painterliness, my approach evolved significantly under the influence of a new generation of airbrush artists, particularly Tayler Anton White and Bondoso Bandido. Although their visual languages differ greatly, both artists stand out for their unconventional use of the airbrush. While most airbrush practitioners tend to employ the tool as a means of simulating screen-based aesthetics, these two artists treat the airbrush more like a direct painting instrument. When used in this immediate and expressive manner, the airbrush produces a strange yet pure painterly quality—one that I found deeply compelling and sought to incorporate into my own practice.
Inspired by their methods, I revised how I integrated the airbrush into my work, favoring spontaneity and gestural application over controlled, screen-like gradients. Additionally, I made deliberate painterly adjustments to most visual elements and panel borders within the composition. Instead of relying on tools like masking tape to create sharp, mechanical edges, I opted for a more direct, hand-painted approach to frame division. This eliminated the presence of clean, rigid lines and allowed for a more expressive, tactile visual language.
Furthermore, I employed both gestural line work and airbrush techniques in the depiction of characters, enhancing the painterly dimension of the overall image. This shift introduced a new layer of material immediacy and visual intensity, elevating the expressive quality of the work beyond earlier iterations.
Bondoso Bandido’s works
Tayler Anton White’s works
I would like to analyze my final work in Unit 2, titled ‘As Long As I Can Get There’. This piece was developed through an extended process of theoretical exploration and material experimentation. It represents a culmination of the ideas I had been testing throughout the unit.
In this work, I meticulously treated the edges of every panel with painterly attention. Unlike mechanically rendered borders, each frame edge appears deliberately uneven, tilted, or fragmented to varying degrees—emphasizing the hand-made quality of the composition. The seemingly arbitrary placement of dialogue boxes also plays a key role in the visual structure, subtly segmenting the image and reinforcing compositional rhythm. The combination of image-based symbols and textual elements within these boxes adds layers of narrative complexity, while their integration with surrounding figures maintains visual coherence across the piece.
Visually, the composition features three distinct focal elements: a meme-inspired background in the upper left corner, a stylized anime figure in the upper right, and a hyper-detailed hand rendered in the lower section. These three components, drawn in sharply contrasting styles, each embody a strong painterly presence. Their dissonance contributes to a deliberate sense of fragmentation, reinforcing the work’s conceptual tension.
Finally, layered over all visual components are some large, exaggerated onomatopoeic text—simulating Japanese characters. Rendered with expressive, visible brushstrokes, this element amplifies the narrative intensity of the work while simultaneously asserting its graphic materiality. I see this piece as a pivotal stage in my practice—one that merges a heightened sense of painterliness with the logic of a hyper-narrative machine. It stands as a major outcome of my Unit 2 investigations.
As long as I can get there
90x150x3.6cm,Acrylic on canvas,2025
In summary, my Unit 2 work reflects significant developments in both painterly expression and narrative construction. However, I acknowledge that my use of manga as a reference remains somewhat ambiguous in terms of its structural boundaries. The framework I adopted was not fully deconstructed; rather, it relied heavily on direct appropriation. Moving forward, I aim to critically deconstruct a broader range of narrative-based media and draw inspiration from a wider spectrum of storytelling formats.