Light Jelly Sweet
2022-ongoing
Light Jelly Sweet, an ongoing series of paintings and photographs by Henry Hu. The body of work highlights the artist’s continued interest in abstraction as a force that might signify life without directly defining it. What arises from Light Jelly Sweet, whether on canvas, board, or paper, are testaments of existence as imagined, invented, remembered, and observed.
The initial impression is one of self-generative creation, with vignettes of growth and decay symbolising biological life cycles. The buried fears, the old grudges, the wounded feelings are fused together in these artworks that reach for an understanding of vulnerability, turning inward and examining the subconscious landscape. It is the concept of perception—the perception of a past or a memory, and how we frown upon it—that is at the forefront of what unifies this series.
Limiting his range of tonal palette within each work, the paintings combine a multi-layered technique of paint pours with an ecosystem of raw, earthly materials—mixing sand, gravel, twig, leaf, grass and wood. Each element tunnels into, intertwines with the other, a delicate manipulation of material that traces the ambiguity of nostalgia. The end result materialises as an account of time, consciousness made visible. At heart, the works are an embodiment of the natural world, to preserve what is fleeting, a piece of reflection, a quiet wonder.
“Burning sun. Open air. Nature. The fields. The woods. A birch. A pine. An oak. Shades. Shadows. Clouds overhead. Streams beneath. They are gifts for a child. How unguarded we were, the early days.
Growth. In years, decades later. The course of life. Death. Grief. Senility. Greeted with apprehensions. Lingering regrets. We return to this gift, now for comfort, for answers. A pleasant solace.
Brisk. Bright. Soft hue. Pale tone. Easy on the eyes. Light Jelly Sweet. A sense of tenderness, clarity and calm. A balm for the soul. A clearing to yearn, to forgive, to let go if only for a moment.
Part bucolic splendor, part whispered serenity. A world tipped into stillness. A reminder that even in the darkness, there is still a reason to look up.”, Henry Hu writes.
third voice
Sand, wood, almond meal, sesame, spray paint, adhesive, and acrylic on glass frame
31 x 41 cm
from Light Jelly Sweet, 2022
keepsake *3
Pigment inkjet on cotton rag
38 x 26 cm
from Light Jelly Sweet, 2022
Five moony crescents
Twig, grass, gravel, almond meal, glitter, fabric, spray paint, adhesive and acrylic on canvas
40 x 50 cm
from Light Jelly Sweet, 2023
Most far in blue pt 2
Twig, gravel, flour, glitter, rice, spray paint, adhesive, and acrylic on glass frame
33 x 33 cm
from Light Jelly Sweet, 2023
the flint #28
Pigment inkjet on cotton rag
38 x 26 cm
from Light Jelly Sweet, 2022
perfumed
Gravel, sand, glitter, spray paint, adhesive, and acrylic on glass frame
31 x 22 cm
from Light Jelly Sweet, 2023
b walk b walk #8
Twig, sand, gravel, tea leaf, almond meal, spray paint, adhesive, and acrylic on glass frame
34 x 34 cm
from Light Jelly Sweet, 2022
A far sea
Gravel, grass, twig, seed, fabric, faux wood, spray paint, adhesive, and acrylic on canvas
105 x72 cm
from Light Jelly Sweet, 2023
keepsake *5
Pigment inkjet on cotton rag
38 x 26 cm
from Light Jelly Sweet, 2022
the dull bells
Twig, grass, nutmeg, gravel, sand, adhesive, and acrylic on board
57 x 50 cm
from Light Jelly Sweet, 2022
the flint #34
Pigment inkjet on cotton rag
38 x 26 cm
from Light Jelly Sweet, 2022
In my moon suit
Gravel, sand, bark, twig, glitter, cardboard, spray paint, adhesive, and acrylic on canvas
51 x 84 cm
from Light Jelly Sweet, 2023
berries cast dark
Gravel, nutmeg, apricot kernel, glitter, adhesive, and acrylic on board
33 x 29 cm
from Light Jelly Sweet, 2023
crush moor #26
Sand, nutmeg, rice, spray paint, adhesive, and acrylic on canvas
56 x 48 cm
from Light Jelly Sweet, 2022
the flint #58
Pigment inkjet on cotton rag
38 x 26 cm
from Light Jelly Sweet, 2022
On the nursery wall (fifteen)
Twig, herb, glitter, flour, spray paint, adhesive, and acrylic on board
33 x 29 cm
from Light Jelly Sweet, 2023
Has it edges
Gravel, grass, twig, herb, cardboard, spray paint, adhesive, and acrylic on canvas
64 x 41 cm
from Light Jelly Sweet, 2023
The Golden Rain Tree drips its powders down
Gravel, apricot kernel, metal, grass, glitter, flour, spray paint, adhesive, and acrylic on board
30 x 42 cm
from Light Jelly Sweet, 2023
b walk b walk #3
Sand, gravel, grass, paper, cinnamon, spray paint, adhesive, and acrylic on glass frame
33 x 33 cm
from Light Jelly Sweet, 2022
Green of Eden #2
Twig, tea leaf, nutmeg, glitter, adhesive, and acrylic on board
29 x 33 cm
from Light Jelly Sweet, 2023
the flint #51-53
Pigment inkjet on cotton rag
38 x 26 cm
from Light Jelly Sweet, 2022
The Earthen Womb
Twig, tea leaf, gravel, sand, cardboard, spray paint, adhesive and acrylic on canvas
92 x 51 cm
from Light Jelly Sweet, 2023
Wake to listen pt8
Twig, tea leaf, nutmeg, almond meal, herb, glitter, adhesive, and acrylic on board
29 x 33 cm
from Light Jelly Sweet, 2023
The Hive Itself a Teacup
Gravel, sand, bark, tea leaf, herb, seed, cardboard, adhesive, and acrylic on canvas
Two panels 51 x 26 cm each
from Light Jelly Sweet, 2023
Most far in blue pt 3
Twig, gravel, flour, glitter, rice, spray paint, adhesive, and acrylic on glass frame
33 x 33 cm
from Light Jelly Sweet, 2023
On the nursery wall (eight)
Twig, herb, glitter, flour, spray paint, adhesive, and acrylic on board
33 x 29 cm
from Light Jelly Sweet, 2023
Green of Eden #3
Twig, tea leaf, nutmeg, glitter, adhesive, and acrylic on board
29 x 33 cm
from Light Jelly Sweet, 2023
big b mode
Gravel, sand, glass, wood, adhesive, and acrylic on board
62 x 42 cm
from Light Jelly Sweet, 2022
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