Scarlett Guan

Selected and ongoing work

Work

Four bodies of work tracing language, material memory, ritual, labour, and the marks through which a life is recorded.

01

Painting & Poetry Series

Poetry translated into material images through coal dust, rust, light, and landscape.

Moonlit sea with rust-colored waves and a pale moon; sulfur dioxide, coal dust, and iron rust on canvas (2022); inspired by Zhang Ruoxu’s “Spring River in the Flower Moonlit Night” (“the spring river enters the old year”). 2022 年作，二氧化硫、煤炭、铁锈红油画布；月光海面与锈色波纹，取意张若虚《春江花月夜》“江春入旧年”。
Spring River Enters the Old Year 江春入旧年View work →
Vertical abstract in sulfur dioxide, coal dust, and iron rust on canvas (2022): diluted black pigments cascade like a waterfall; evokes Li Bai’s “Viewing the Waterfall at Mount Lu.” 2022 年作，二氧化硫、煤炭、铁锈红油画布；纵向黑色颜料如瀑布倾泻，呼应李白《望庐山瀑布》。
Waterfall of Three Thousand Feet 飞流直下三千尺View work →
Abstract mountain peak painted with sulfur dioxide, coal dust, and iron rust on canvas (2022); a dark solitary summit rises into a glowing orange haloed sky, inspired by Du Fu’s line “When I reach the summit, all mountains seem small.” 2022 年作，二氧化硫、煤炭、铁锈红油画布；一座孤峰直指橙黄天空，环绕光晕，呼应杜甫“会当凌绝顶，一览众山小”。
Summit Over All 会当凌绝顶View work →
Pavilion amid branches painted with sulfur dioxide, coal dust, and iron rust on canvas — inspired by Lin Bu’s line “Sparse shadows slant across the clear shallows; faint fragrance drifts at dusk.” 枝叶间的亭台，用二氧化硫、煤炭和铁锈在画布上绘制，灵感来自林逋的诗句“疏影横斜水清浅，暗香浮动月黄昏”。
Subtle Shadows and Faint FragranceView work →
Abstract landscape with a winding white line leading to a round setting sun over a long river; sulfur dioxide, coal dust, and iron rust on canvas, 2022; after Wang Zhihuan’s “long river, setting sun round.” 2022 年作，二氧化硫、煤炭、铁锈红油画布；蜿蜒白线通向圆日与长河，取意王之涣“长河落日圆”。
Long River, Setting Sun 长河落日圆View work →

02

To Knot Is to Hope

Installation and performance works about memory, labour, waiting, and the decision to keep living.

Installation of branch-built tree with sagging knotted rope net, a boulder marked by handprints, and drifting smoke — reflecting on the fragility of time and the necessity of living fully rather than merely recording.
To Knot Is to Hope — and Still I Push the StoneView work →
I sat under a knotted rope “tree” installation beside a stone with handprints, evoking Beckett’s Waiting for Godot and the existential act of waiting. CN: 艺术家安静坐在结绳“树”装置下，旁边是带手印的石头，呼应贝克特《等待戈多》，呈现等待的存在主义动作。
Waiting Under the Knotting Tree – Performance Still 结绳树下的等待 —— 行为表演静帧View work →
Artist caught mid-action pushing the carved stone in gallery space.
Pushing the Stone – Performance StillView work →

03

Coal & Ash Drawings

Drawings in coal and cigar ash, where geological memory and fragile gestures meet.

Coal-dust portrait of Tang Xianzu, Chinese playwright from Jiangxi, drawn on rice paper, combining literary heritage with material memory.
Tang Xianzu – Coal PortraitView work →
Abstract drawing made with collected cigar ash, depicting two leg-like forms referencing Shelley’s Ozymandias — a meditation on the fragility of power and memory.
Look on My Works!View work →
Installation-photo of a coal drawing of a fragmented head, placed low and vulnerable in a corner, referencing Shelley’s Ozymandias.
Look on My Works – Ozymandias in the CornerView work →
Cigar ash drawing depicting a coiling dragon, ephemeral and gestural, like smoke suspended over a mountain peak.
Dragon Encircling the Mountain – Cigar Ash DrawingView work →
EN: Coal dust drawing of a bird, inspired by traditional Chinese literati painting, expressing a longing for freedom. CN: 煤粉绘制的鸟，灵感来自中国古代文人画，传达对自由的向往。
Bird Study — Coal DrawingView work →
EN: Close-up of a bird drawn with cigar ash, wings spread wide as if caught mid-flight, embodying rebellion, freedom, and youthful desire. CN: 用雪茄烟灰绘制的飞鸟特写，双翼张开仿佛定格在飞行瞬间，象征叛逆、自由与青春的欲望。
Bird in Flight – Cigar Ash DrawingView work →
EN: Coal-and-ash bird drawing faded and flaked over time, leaving a ghostly silhouette on paper. CN: 煤炭与烟灰绘制的飞鸟，随时间褪色、剥落，只剩下幽灵般的轮廓。
Bird in Flight – Time’s TraceView work →

04

Fate Lines

Palm lines become glyphs, writing systems, and temporary marks in the landscape.

Black ink glyph derived from the artist’s palm lines, brush-written and vectorized into an archaic-style symbol on white background. 黑色毛笔笔触绘制、由艺术家掌纹抽象而来的“古文字感”符号，后期矢量化，白色底。
Palm Glyph — Fate Lines（掌纹字｜命纹）View work →
Fallen leaves arranged on grass to trace the artist’s own palm-line glyph, forming a large hand shape.
Leaf Palm — Earth ArtView work →