Graduate Exhibition

Surface tension is a phenomenon that causes liquids to form an elastic covering using cohesive forces. Molecules in a liquid possess attractive forces which keeps the substance together; within a liquid, a molecule usually experiences attractive forces from all around. On the surface however, molecules only experience attractive forces from below and next to them. Consequently, these forces are stronger at the surface than below, and result in a thin film on top of the liquid. Surface tension is this strengthening of the attractive forces at the surface. The series ‘FLOW’ presents a new way of observing how liquids move into different shapes and forms due to the effects of surface tension. Gege Zu's photographs direct the viewer's attention to this physical surface. Gege is particularly inspired by the artistic practice of Adam Fuss, known for his life-size photograms of water, invoking imagery inspired by a spiritual and poetic sense of beauty. His deliberate distillation of the essence of photography – a flash of light on a sensitised surface – emphasises themes of transformation and perception which Gege further engages with.