Payne Zhu
Endless Debt, Reverse-rendering
Dimensions : 尺寸可变 Dimension variable
Materials : 58:9 ultra-narrow display, digital video, specially shaped plasterboard
Year : 2022

Commissioned by UCCA Center for Contemporary Art

In the field of digital image production, “rendering” refers to the process of transforming abstract data into an image that can be presented on a screen. In Reverse-rendering, Payne Zhu attempts to capture a widespread and general form of basic rendering: image is retrieved by an Internet platform through a recommendation algorithm, transmitted through a network, received by a terminal device, and generated on the user’s screen. The speed of this rendering reflects current computing power and transmission efficiency, yet it is in constant competition with another form of speed -the speed of finger scrolling across the screen. With a flick of the finger, users can choose, read, and watch new content, maintaining a constant influx of images and unbroken rendering. When finger speed exceeds rendering speed, display errors such as distortion or frozen images occur. The generation of a faulty image can be regarded as inverse rendering, arising from the gap between bodily and technological speed.

The artist has recreated this process of inverse rendering in the form of an installation. The screen appears squeezed by structures on both sides, becoming a thin strip. The artist collected video materials from platforms such as TikTok, blurred them, disassembled them frame by frame, and rearranged them into indistinguishable color strips. On the screen, they appear as if an invisible finger is scrolling upward. These indistinguishable pictures connect and recombine into a dynamic video like an endless and turbulent flow of information, flowing upstream propelled by the tension between body and machine.