1st place
gold star award
Wen-Hang Lin
united states 
title
The Riff of Silence
Using serendipity as a creative tool, photographing onto previously exposed film not only created overlapping images but also fused two unrelated events into an abstract space. It aims to glimpse between two layers of time and present a new way to perceive the world around us. The vibrant colors and ambiguous details blur the boundary between reality. Seemly ordinary street scenes transform into a stage, and the puzzling appearance allows viewers' memories to move between the ridges of the consciousness, emerging when stimulated or when least expected. It is an improvisational performance between the photographs and viewers' sub-conscious, provoking a visual sense with both the hidden and the present.
His works were in numerous exhibitions throughout the U.S. Wen also received various awards in the United States and aboard. His project also featured in magazines and blog in China, Malaysia, and other countries.
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entry description
"The Riff of Silence" is a quiet exploration of photographer's mundane life. It is also his free thought about the idea of time and the attempt to probe the probability in the layering moment experiences. What it presented are enigmatic double exposure images which playing our perception and memory in that intertwining of time. In the entangled web of intended actions and unintended instances, the act of photography has transformed into a theatrical encounter experience.Using serendipity as a creative tool, photographing onto previously exposed film not only created overlapping images but also fused two unrelated events into an abstract space. It aims to glimpse between two layers of time and present a new way to perceive the world around us. The vibrant colors and ambiguous details blur the boundary between reality. Seemly ordinary street scenes transform into a stage, and the puzzling appearance allows viewers' memories to move between the ridges of the consciousness, emerging when stimulated or when least expected. It is an improvisational performance between the photographs and viewers' sub-conscious, provoking a visual sense with both the hidden and the present.
about the photographer
Wen Hang Lin (b. Taipei, Taiwan) is a photographer based in Mesa, Arizona. Wen’s work explores intersecting ideas of knowledge and contemplative studies. Expressing the philosophical observation through art and creativity is integral to his art practice. Inspired by Robert Frank’s "The Americans", he moved to American Southwest and studied photography in his early twenties. He graduated with honors from Arizona State University, where he earned his B.F.A. Later, he received M.F.A. in photography at The Ohio State University.His works were in numerous exhibitions throughout the U.S. Wen also received various awards in the United States and aboard. His project also featured in magazines and blog in China, Malaysia, and other countries.
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