Abstraction Principle

This series of eight artworks on paper, mounted on board, grew out of a material exploration and an attempt to simplify the complex residues left by the academic process. I worked with a diverse range of materials—printmaking ink, drawing ink, natural fibers, oil paint, and earth ochres—to channel the emotions I experienced after completing my MAFA: a mix of emptiness, reflection, and an urgent need to dive deeply into new work.

The series’ title, borrowed from software engineering and programming language theory, refers to a fundamental concept or rule that governs how something functions and eliminates duplication within a program. I applied this idea conceptually, using it as a tool to identify core emotions and ideas within layered experiences. The resulting visual language simplifies and solidifies, much like a program’s logic streamlines code. For me, the series became both a meditation on simplification and a method for navigating the tension between complexity and clarity.