dE SARTHE x GLP

TAIPEI DANGDAI MAY 20 - MAY 22, 2022 Booth D02

Eternally Destined , 2022 Acrylic, silk thread, archival pigment print on canvas, diptych 200 x 200 cm (Each panel 200 x 100 cm) © Lin Jingjing. Courtesy de Sarthe

Like a Poet Adores the Moon , 2021 Acrylic, silk thread, archival pigment print on canvas, diptych 200 x 200 cm (Each panel 200 x 100 cm) © Lin Jingjing. Courtesy de Sarthe

Lin Jingjing’s Utopian Reality (2021-) is a series of mixed media diptychs comprised of silk thread, acrylic paint, and archival pigment print on canvas. The near-theatrical artworks depict solitary figures, some dressed in futuristic attire, whose faces are either obscured or turned away from the viewer. The composition of each work is partitioned by bold, black lines, as if the viewer is looking through a window. Two meters tall and two meters wide, these disproportionately large windows reveal picturesque sights of urban architecture and natural landscapes that stretch into the vast distance. Comprising lakes, mountains, as well as football fields and swimming pools, the imagery appears familiar yet estranged, lacking in identifiers that would allow one to place its location.

Home Sweet Home: Pandemic Love 5 ,2022 Acrylic on canvas, triptych 200 x 150 cm (Each panel 66.7 x 150 cm) © Mak2. Courtesy de Sarthe

Home Sweet Home: The Office 3 ,2022 Acrylic on canvas, triptych 200 x 150 cm (Each panel 66.7 x 150 cm) © Mak2. Courtesy de Sarthe

Home Sweet Home: The Office 4 , 2022 Acrylic on canvas, triptych 200 x 150 cm (Each panel 66.7 x 150 cm) © Mak2. Courtesy de Sarthe

Home Sweet Home: Sunflower Pool 8 , 2021 Acrylic on canvas, triptych 200 x 150 cm (Each panel 66.7 x 150 cm) © Mak2. Courtesy de Sarthe

Home Sweet Home: Magic Mirror 1 , 2022 Acrylic on canvas, triptych 200 x 150 cm (Each panel 66.7 x 150 cm) © Mak2. Courtesy de Sarthe

Conceptual artist Mak2’s artworks are always bound by the dualism of humour and intense inquisitiveness. Her iconic series Home Sweet Home (2019-) explores both the idyllic and traumatic aspects of life in contemporary cities. It is a series of triptychs on canvas composed using the popular American life simulation videogame “The Sims”, and each panel of an artwork is painted by a separate painter found on the Chinese e-commerce platform Taobao.

Home Sweet Home: The Office 1 , 2022 Acrylic on canvas, triptych 141 x 250 cm (Each panel 141 x 83.4 cm) © Mak2. Courtesy de Sarthe

“The Sims” is often used as a form of escapism as it grants players absolute power to control and alter their surroundings, allowing one to live out their own customized fantasy without the obstacles of reality. However, as these virtual fantasies are materialized via paint and brush, the final outcome becomes unpredictable due to the painters’ inconsistent skill levels, techniques, and use of materials. By enabling external factors to intervene in the process of actualization, Mak2 elucidates the inevitable disparity between reality and fantasy. Upon the invasion of foreign factors into one’s personal realm, the illusion of utopia is instantly shattered.

Press Release