Huang Yan 黄岩

[M]an was subject, landscape was the object, a landscape painted on the human body was the materialization of the union between subject and object. 

–Huang Yan, on why he painted landscapes on his body

This photograph captures Huang Yan’s exploration of traditional Chinese mountain and water art. He and his wife, artist Zhang Tienmei, painted rivers, mountains, trees, and rocks on his chest and arms, altering both his body and our engagement with traditional landscape paintings. 

As with the jade landscape in this exhibition, we are encouraged to look closely to discover this work’s details and appreciate its three-dimensionality.