In 1996 Shi Jin-hua noticed that the ballpoint pen he used on a daily basis was almost out of ink. Sitting at his desk in Irvine, California, where he was studying at the time, Shi took out a large sheet of paper and quickly began to scribble, his strokes becoming increasingly frenetic. Before completing the last drawing, he had recalled the time spent with the pen as part of his life. As such, each black mark on the paper is filled with the artist's sense of obsession and regret.

Although the scribbled lines appear to be produced almost unconsciously, they speak to a selfless focus, conjuring up an array of strange ideas reminiscent of a practitioner of Buddhism sitting in meditation. In this sense, Shi Jin-hua can be seen as having become a "Pencil Walker," utilizing art as his own personal area of self-cultivation.

Inner incantations

Shi first places a white wooden board measuring 32 x 8 feet against the wall of a building. He then tapes a pencil sharpener and tape recorder to his left and right arms and sticks a microphone to his mouth. He then starts to draw pencil lines back and forth across the wall, whilst silently chanting a Heart Sutra and Flower Adornment Sutra to himself. This drawing of lines and silent recitation is constantly repeated, for two hours 15 minutes each time, the entire process being recorded on videotape.

From March 1996 to the present, Shi Jin-hua has exhibited his work in the US and at the Huashan Arts District in Taipei on 42 separate occasions.

When compared to the splendidly playful works shown at the Huashan Arts District's "Taiwan Avant-garde Documenta," Shi Jin-hua's piece seems almost uniquely serious and uninteresting. One of the judges, Lin Ku-fang, director of the Graduate School of Art at Fo Guang University, believes that artists today habitually start the creative process with concepts and words, only then turning to the creation of art. He suggests that this approach ensures works are grounded in rationality, but often lack intuitive observations. Indeed, he goes as far as to say that a comparison of concepts behind the work and expressive form frequently reveals grandiose ideas but insufficient ability to realize them. In contrast, the work shown by Shi Jin-hua is not displayed for the sake of being shown and is consistently expressive, whether in terms of inner thought or external artistic appearance. "Although the work itself appears highly individualistic, it is still sufficiently universal to move or inspire the broader public," Lin Ku-fang says.

Lines of life

For Shi Jin-hua, who suffers from diabetes, 1980 marked the time he started taking insulin injections and regularly recording his blood-sugar level with a glucometer. In the two decades since then, he estimates that he has measured his own blood sugar level at least 40,000 times. Over the years, Shi has carefully stored the medical waste, so important to his continued physical health and control, in sealed plastic bags. Through the pain of physical illness, he has discovered by faithfully recording what happens that the human body cannot be entirely controlled. It is as a result of this revelation that he became even more determined to achieve genuine spiritual release through the training of his physical form.

"I think people generally fail to really see the helplessness and absurdity of life," Shi says, "otherwise there just wouldn't be so much monotonous, repetitive behavior or so many ill-considered acts. If we could bring together all the focuses of life in front of us, I think most people would be surprised at the extent to which the lives we lead are full of actions and desires that continuously repeat and are meaningless bordering on the absurd."

At its extremes, art has always been very much like religion and as such Shi Jin-hua's self cultivation through art, together with his quiet search for the essence of life in the high-energy hustle and bustle of contemporary art, has moved not only art critics but also those of us who spend our days in the world of mortals.

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Moving back and forth, the artist leaves behind him countless pencil lines. Shi Jin-hua attempts to overcome the limitations of the physical through art and this infuses his work with the spirit of religious redemption. (courtesy of Shi Jin-hua)

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When compared to the splendidly playful pieces of contemporary art that seem to be all the fashion, Shi Jin-hua's more simple and somber work was the favorite of the "An Award for Taipei Biennale" panel of judges (courtesy of Shi Jin-hua).