How Material Surfaces Communicate Meaning in Contemporary Chinese Mixed-Media Art

Abstract

This paper examines how material surfaces communicate meaning in contemporary Chinese mixed-media art. Rather than treating surfaces as secondary or decorative elements, the study approaches them as active sites of expression shaped by material choice, process, and sensory engagement. Through a conceptual analysis of recurring surface conditions, including roughness, layering, and wear, the paper demonstrates that meaning is produced through physical traces, perceptual resistance, and embodied experience rather than through explicit imagery or symbolic representation. The discussion further considers how everyday and discarded materials, as well as process-based surface formation, embed time, use, and material history directly into surface structures. By focusing on surface as a non-linguistic mode of communication, the paper offers an alternative framework for understanding how contemporary Chinese mixed-media art conveys experience, memory, and tension through material presence and sensory perception.