Disaster 2022-2023

In the Disaster Landscape series, Han Ren uses power tools to produce drawings of natural disasters such as volcanic eruptions, landslides, and storms. Working on purple carbon paper, he repeatedly strikes the reverse side of the sheet with a jigsaw, allowing mechanical vibration, pressure, and repetition to generate unpredictable marks. Pastel is then applied to reinforce selected traces and forms. The resulting landscapes emerge from a process that oscillates between intention and loss of control. The destructive force represented in the image is therefore also present in the making of the image itself. By transforming a material historically associated with mechanical reproduction into a surface of physical impact, the series considers drawing as an encounter between the hand, the machine, and forces that exceed deliberate control.