2012↗
Shanshui
From a distance, a landscape. Up close, photographs made at different times and positions.
Selected works2010 / Photography, light box
Appearance Arises from the Mind
Mountains, trees and blocks of sky are rejoined within a circular boundary.
- Artist
- He Fa
- Date
- June 2010
- Recorded dimensions
- 512 × 512 mm
- Recorded medium
- Light box
Complete chapter contents
Images and presentation
In Appearance Arises from the Mind, a landscape is held inside a circular boundary. Mountains and green vegetation occupy the lower area and sides, with blue sky and clouds above. The scene does not become an entirely uniform panorama: tonal boundaries between rectangular photographs remain distinct. The circular edge and the blocks within it form contrasting geometries.
The work can first be recognized as a complete landscape, then examined along the joins between photographs. Its circular form does not erase the small discrepancies; it gathers them within a defined area. The portfolio records a light box measuring 512 × 512 mm, dated June 2010. It supplies no separate written statement for this work.
The artist’s account in the 2012 thesis
In the 2012 graduation thesis Exploring Shanshui Photography, He Fa looks back at Appearance Arises from the Mind, dating it explicitly to 2010 and describing it as “a landscape from within my mind.” He explains that he cropped and resized photographs before assembling them more subjectively, using shifting viewpoints to evoke a vast landscape within a small space.
The thesis proposes that the image could extend into a scroll tens or hundreds of metres long. This describes the structure’s potential for extension, rather than the measured length of a realized work.
Archive note
Based on pages 20–21 of the 38-page portfolio 何发-作品小汇. Title, date, dimensions and medium follow the original title page. Images were extracted independently from the PDF and retain their full compositions. The English title is a translation or transliteration for this website, not a verified historical English title.
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Work record
Appearance Arises from the Mind, 2010. Photography, light box. He Fa’s role: Artist: He Fa.
- Work / series
- Appearance Arises from the Mind
- Date
- 2010
- Medium
- Photography, light box
- He Fa’s role
- Artist: He Fa
- Catalogue section
- Early explorations
Cite this record: Appearance Arises from the Mind · 2010 · Artist: He Fa · https://hefa.p4theater.cn/en/work/xiangyouxinsheng
TAKE A PATH ACROSS
Other paths from this work.
- DOCUMENT RECORD
Versions of a work
Possible extension is not completed extension
Appearance Arises from the MindLong Long Ago / Project Proposal
The thesis discussion of Appearance Arises from the Mind imagines an extended scroll; Long Long Ago proposes rotating through neighbourhoods. Both open directions for expansion, but projected length and programme scale are not completed totals.
Continue from this work ↗Read the source materials
- Artist’s statementThe artist’s account in the 2012 thesis ↗
The 2012 thesis Looking for Shanshui Photography describes cropping, scaling and subjective arrangement, and proposes possible extension into a long scroll; the length is hypothetical.
- Period documentWorking together in the proposal ↗
The original proposal envisages artists from different neighbourhoods taking turns to host activities; recruitment and the year-long schedule are plans, not completion records.
- Artist’s statementThe artist’s account in the 2012 thesis ↗
Rules and choices
Composition precedes freedom
Appearance Arises from the MindWu
Appearance Arises from the Mind explicitly uses cropping, scaling and subjective composition; Wu places free growth within a familiar landscape layout. Together they reveal different authorial choices rather than a natural progression from control to its absence.
Continue from this work ↗Read the source materials
- Artist’s statementThe artist’s account in the 2012 thesis ↗
The 2012 thesis Looking for Shanshui Photography describes cropping, scaling and subjective arrangement, and proposes possible extension into a long scroll; the length is hypothetical.
- Artist’s statementArtist statement in the portfolio ↗
The portfolio statement retains both the choice of a familiar landscape composition and the declaration of free growth; it does not establish the absence of artistic decisions.
- Artist’s statementThe artist’s account in the 2012 thesis ↗
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