Song of the Siren explores the complex diversity of contemporary ink landscapes highlighting distinctive practices that communicate nature’s scenery via metaphor and realism. Featuring sculpture and video, the exhibition concentrates on the abstract painting of two artists inspired by nature’s tainted landscape. Isolated visions illustrated with barren branches and chemical horizons captivate viewers, drawing them inside the attractive yet austere scenery.

 Cindy Ng debuts her new video from the Ink Walk series. The amalgamation of liquids poured over glass creates visual permutations shifting unpredictably with no definable beginning or end. There is a similarity between the manipulated movement in her video and the natural flow of ink over canvas and paper; abstract shapes meld together and separate again to simulate a naturescape. 

Cindy’s new work has transformed from her earlier square and rectangular shapes into more circular forms. The importance of form has deep-rooted meaning in Chinese culture, the circle representing a sense of fulfillment and the square a more regulated structure. The combination of each creates a perfect balance and unity, and when applied to Cindy’s new works, accentuating the circular becomes a process of coming full circle.

In her first exhibition at Art+ Shanghai Marie-Isabelle Callier unveils The Trees series. Inspired by nature, her works shift between the abstract and figurative creating scenery that appears simultaneously both distant and personal. Using wax as a medium, the fluidity in her works echoes the gracefulness in Cindy’s ink landscapes. The splash of watercolor and ink on wax evokes realistic yet free tree forms. 

Emphasizing a volatile nature, the fragility of Marie-Isabelle paintings is exposed through a complicated and entangled shaping of line and form. The beautiful and inspiring pieces showcase the vitality and visual power of modern ink painting. 

In the centre of the exhibition rests a sculpture installation from Marvin Fang. The severed tree and bare branches sculptured from plywood, an artificial by-product, add to the already pensive atmosphere of an enchanting landscape under siege from human activity.