Scry features Phi Phi Oanh's series of lacquer paintings on glasses which she has worked and experimented on for years.

Statement

Scrying is the act of divination through focused gazing into a glass or reflective medium. In this exhibit magnifying glasses are used to view the lacquer skins.  The title, Scry, suggests the character of the images presented as embracing of ambiguity and visual magic and a desperate grasping at what the future beholds.

For this series of paintings, the dimension of the skins emulate that of a touch tablet screen. Using this visual trope, I loosely reflect on contemporary imagery or images that new technologies such as drones, digital, satellite, nano can visualize.  They too are a kind of looking glass through which we can come to grasp the future.

The magnifying glasses augment the illusion of allurement in lacquer painting while simultaneously giving away its means of construction. The skins are back lit and front lit to optimize the pure qualities of the lacquer painting one would not be able to see on another surface.