Collages - Chinese Gardens

This collage is another study of bamboo, but here I wanted to examine the different textural qualities of the bamboo that can be found within the Chinese gardens. Bamboo can be thick or thin, dark black or light yellow, round, square, rough or smooth. By examining only one particular aspect of the gardens in detail, an infinite amount of possibilities is suddenly opened up. These differences are highlighted by their placement against a neutral white backdrop. Similar to my first study of bamboo, a relationship develops between the amounts of white wall shown, and the amount of bamboo shown. The bamboo plays host to a changing array of patterning with the walls behind it, and the collage examines this through the changing degrees of obscurity, ranging from a complete white wall, to total obscurity of the white wall via the bamboo leaves.


This collage is a study of the texture and quality of the white walls. Different patterns play out on these white walls, as light is filtered through leaves and bamboo sticks, whilst moss and dirt gather. Here, the walls act as a backdrop for the various processes occurring within the gardens: some as fleeting as a shadow, whilst others more lasting, such as weathering. Parts of the walls begin to mirror the branches and leaves of the bamboo, through the combined effects of these processes. The walls take on similarities with the elements of the garden. It is interesting to me that the weathering of the walls is not only endured, but also appears to be accepted and celebrated as a continual process of change within the garden, adding another layer of depth to one’s visual field.


This collage was my first in a series of bamboo studies. Through the placement of bamboo against a white backdrop, a series of textures and patterning begins to occur. The pattern of the bamboo itself, the patterns that the light and shadows make against the white walls, and the texture of the white wall itself, all create an interesting visual experience. By removing the bamboo from its traditional context of a forest, it begins to take on an abstract quality, further enhanced the two strips of photos, that seem almost to mirror each other, but do not quite form an exact opposite image. Simultaneously, this collage speaks of transparency, and increasing degrees of obscurity. There is a progression from a white wall, to a forest of bamboo sticks. The bamboo never fully hides the white wall behind it, but creates an increasingly obscured image of the backdrop.


This collage is an examination of the different textures, colours and materials encountered in Chinese gardens. Close-up shots of moss, rocks, leaves and stone represent the different elements found within the gardens. The white lines that snake through the collage show a path cutting through the various ground-cover. I was influenced by the way the natural environment seems to grow and take control of the man made elements in the gardens. Trees branch out, moss spreads, leaves fall. All of these natural processes slowly impinge upon the man made paths, creating a living, breathing garden.


This was my first collage and also one of my few attempts at a realistic perspective. I tried to examine the way small objects (rocks, shrubs) often mirror their bigger counterparts (mountains, forests) in shape and form. I created an image of a mountain and forest, using close-up shots that I took of the rockeries in the gardens. It is interesting to note the strong relationship small objects often have with large objects, and how there appears to be a distinct link between the two. Many of the small rockeries in the gardens did indeed look like cliff faces, caves, or mountain ranges. By actually using photos of the smaller objects, assembled to create a larger object, I tried to demonstrate this notion.


Red is a colour that I saw very rarely in the Chinese gardens, especially amongst the natural elements. I noticed that this particular tree had been planted in a very specific place, allowing the dramatic red colour of the leaves to contrast with the plain white background. Had the tree been planted next to shrubs of green, it may not have had the same dramatic visual effect. In this way, I attempted to convey not only the great colour contrasts that exist in the Chinese gardens, but also the importance of the specificity of site, and the careful planning that must be involved. If I were to remake this collage, I would perhaps site the tree in its context, to reinforce the careful organisation of the garden.


Light, texture, and continuity were the main themes of this collage. The predominance of white as a backdrop colour is very obvious in the Chinese gardens. Light plays a changing and diverse array of patterns on the walls and groundcover, filtered through doors and windows. I found it interesting that one can find similar patterns, colours, and textures from various parts of the garden. There seems to be a consistent visual and textural style that is continued throughout the man-made elements of the garden. In this collage I attempted to recollect photos from various parts of the garden, to form one cohesive image. Although I feel the collage can be read as a clear perspective image of a doorframe with light shining through it onto the ground, I also feel this is one of my weaker collages, as I wasn’t able to properly convey my ideas, such as the continuity of light upon surfaces, and the similar surface textures found throughout the gardens.


This collage was my first in a series of studies of white walls. The notion of white walls as a boundary was interesting to me. Each of the gardens that we visited featured similar whitewashed walls acting as a boundary. Interestingly, all of the interior partitions also used similar white walls of the same height. As one explores the gardens, one is constantly confronted by these walls, some of which you can pass through via gates and openings, and others which simply enclose the garden. Whilst you are in the gardens, it can be hard to tell the difference between the two types of walls. I felt that perhaps this was intended to give the impression that there was always something beyond the horizon of one’s visual field, and the garden could continue indefinitely in the imagination, rather than ending at the boundary walls. Is there something beyond these walls in the collage, or does the garden end here?


This collage is a continuation of my study of white walls. I wanted to further explore the theme of walls as a boundary, but in a different way. From my experience of the Chinese gardens, almost all of the white walls can be seen as a backdrop for the foreground elements of the gardens, such as rockeries, trees and ponds. In this way, white walls can usually be seen as boundary walls that recede into the background, whilst allowing the focus to be placed on other parts of the garden. Keeping this in consideration, I was very surprised to find in the Master of Nets garden, many walls that actually formed a part of the foreground, and rather than receding, instead came forward at a sharp angle. This interesting change placed focus on the white wall as an object rather than a backdrop, and I have similarly featured this corner wall as the centre of this collage.