Red Oil Wontons project consists of 20 prints of serial JPEG images. Due to the character of JPEG images, every time an image is saved as a copy, the image quality gets compromised. Using shell script, I saved an original jpeg image 5000 times. The result is a series of image deteriorations, ranging from the representational to the completely pixelated and abstract. According to the wall space for installation, I select certain amounts of images for printing based on mathematic principles: Each print is set to be printed in 11.5"x16". Each selected print is apart from one another with the same amount of interval. The series of prints always starts from the first copy.
The loss of "authenticity" caused by this preservational practice can also be found in linguistics. As a name is transcribed throughout generations, or translated across languages, its signifier becomes more and more disassociated from its signified.
