# Appearance Arises from the Mind Canonical: https://hefa.p4theater.cn/en/work/xiangyouxinsheng Appearance Arises from the Mind, 2010. Photography, light box. He Fa’s role: Artist: He Fa. 2010 / Photography, light box Mountains, trees and blocks of sky are rejoined within a circular boundary. Appearance Arises from the Mind, 2010. Portfolio image 1 of 1. Artist He Fa Date June 2010 Recorded dimensions 512 × 512 mm Recorded medium Light box ## 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](https://hefa.p4theater.cn/en/work/xiangyouxinsheng) ## 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. ## Continue exploring ### Shanshui From a distance, a landscape. Up close, photographs made at different times and positions. ### Large Portraits / Portraits Four portraits unfold alongside three enlarged details of each. TAKE A PATH ACROSS ## Other paths from this work. [DOCUMENT RECORD](https://hefa.p4theater.cn/en/work/long-long-ago) Versions of a work Possible extension is not completed extension [Appearance Arises from the Mind](https://hefa.p4theater.cn/en/work/xiangyouxinsheng) ↔ [Long Long Ago / Project Proposal](https://hefa.p4theater.cn/en/work/long-long-ago) 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. 2010 / Photography, light box 2017 / Collective art project proposal · Proposals Read the source materials Artist’s statement [The artist’s account in the 2012 thesis ↗](https://hefa.p4theater.cn/en/work/xiangyouxinsheng#chapter-2) 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 document [Working together in the proposal ↗](https://hefa.p4theater.cn/en/work/long-long-ago#chapter-1) The original proposal envisages artists from different neighbourhoods taking turns to host activities; recruitment and the year-long schedule are plans, not completion records. [Continue from this work ↗](https://hefa.p4theater.cn/en/crossings#work=long-long-ago) Versions of a work ### Possible extension is not completed extension [Appearance Arises from the Mind](https://hefa.p4theater.cn/en/work/xiangyouxinsheng) ↔ [Long Long Ago / Project Proposal](https://hefa.p4theater.cn/en/work/long-long-ago) 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. 2010 / Photography, light box 2017 / Collective art project proposal · Proposals Artist’s statement [The artist’s account in the 2012 thesis ↗](https://hefa.p4theater.cn/en/work/xiangyouxinsheng#chapter-2) 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. 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 document [Working together in the proposal ↗](https://hefa.p4theater.cn/en/work/long-long-ago#chapter-1) The original proposal envisages artists from different neighbourhoods taking turns to host activities; recruitment and the year-long schedule are plans, not completion records. The original proposal envisages artists from different neighbourhoods taking turns to host activities; recruitment and the year-long schedule are plans, not completion records. Rules and choices Composition precedes freedom [Appearance Arises from the Mind](https://hefa.p4theater.cn/en/work/xiangyouxinsheng) ↔ [Wu](https://hefa.p4theater.cn/en/work/wu-2013-2014) 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. 2010 / Photography, light box 2013–2014 / Archival inkjet print Read the source materials Artist’s statement [The artist’s account in the 2012 thesis ↗](https://hefa.p4theater.cn/en/work/xiangyouxinsheng#chapter-2) 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 statement [Artist statement in the portfolio ↗](https://hefa.p4theater.cn/en/work/wu-2013-2014#artist-statement) 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. [Continue from this work ↗](https://hefa.p4theater.cn/en/crossings#work=wu-2013-2014) Rules and choices ### Composition precedes freedom [Appearance Arises from the Mind](https://hefa.p4theater.cn/en/work/xiangyouxinsheng) ↔ [Wu](https://hefa.p4theater.cn/en/work/wu-2013-2014) 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. 2010 / Photography, light box 2013–2014 / Archival inkjet print Artist’s statement [The artist’s account in the 2012 thesis ↗](https://hefa.p4theater.cn/en/work/xiangyouxinsheng#chapter-2) 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. 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 statement [Artist statement in the portfolio ↗](https://hefa.p4theater.cn/en/work/wu-2013-2014#artist-statement) 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. 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. FROM HERE, ELSEWHERE ## Passages between works ### Related records in the archive [Shanshui ↗](https://hefa.p4theater.cn/en/work/shanshui) 2012 [Large Portraits / Portraits ↗](https://hefa.p4theater.cn/en/work/large-portraits) 2010