Still Life and Urban Landscape: Exploring the Space In-between in Contemporary Painting

Abstract

Still life and landscape, as two different genres in painting, possess their own characteristics: still life mainly focuses on domestic inanimate objects, while the landscape is more about outdoor views. However, is it possible to combine these two genres to create a kind of space in-between and, furthermore, deflate the distinction between still life and landscape? This practice-based research investigates the relationship between still life and landscape and further explores the possibility of integrating the characteristics of landscape to conceive new representations of still life not only in historical but also in contemporary contexts. In this research, still life and landscape are not two separate categories but interchange and merge together, which leads to uncertainty in the interpretation of work. I use watercolour as the main method in this research to support the breach of the aforementioned categories. On the one hand, the fluidity of watercolour mirrors this uncertainty and ambiguity. On the other hand, if still life emphasises control while the landscape is more about uncontrol, the oscillation between control and uncontrol in watercolour provides an experimental space for understanding the relationship between still life and landscape. Three different series of watercolour paintings born out of this research have led to new insights between still life and landscape, specifically the interrelation of still life and urban landscape. Firstly, this research departs from the notion of ‘nature morte’ and has contributed to the field of traditional still life painting; secondly, it has also offered new possibilities for contemporary art practice of everyday objects.