在人類探索天文宇宙的歷史中，很早就發現星體有時會以「團塊」的型態構成，而「星雲」又常泛指為「瀰漫星雲」（Diffuse nebula），它們也代表著宇宙形成之初，由抽象到具體的聚散、擴張過程。
而哲學家斯賓諾莎（Baruch de Spinoza）把宇宙的存在，指稱為唯一的實體（substance），它們從中區分「能產的自然Natura naturans」（上帝、宇宙自然）與「所產的自然Natura naturata」（萬物、生命體與物質）兩個面向，把上帝和自然等同起來，生命的創造力量與邏輯，在一個意義上皆來自於自然法則（nature law）的運作，是內在性而非超越性的。
氣 Aura, oil on canvas, 145.5x112cm (80F), 2010。圖/紅野畫廊提供
大宇宙 Universe, oil on canvas, 130x162cm (100F), 2005。圖/紅野畫廊提供
若我們將這種創造與被創造物，它們於內在力量的合而為一，解釋鄭瓊娟繪畫裡的潛意識、自我、精神和自然，即為從抽象意識，轉換為具體型態的過程。觀看她作品的流動與漫遊，如感受到「意識的星雲」在繪畫中產生氣流狀的線條，一種「內觀宇宙」，透過不同的自然和生命體形式表徵出來。
鄭瓊娟的繪畫有時以形象化的「姿態」展現，例如：植樹花朵、山影、星軌、雲朵、氣流、意識的線條及邊界。它們既不代表現實世界的具體植物，也不是某個自然景觀的摹寫再現，它們是她的「心之花」與「內觀宇宙」。由「星雲」聚散、瀰漫的運動狀態，理解鄭瓊娟繪畫裡的抽象性，是從她的心理和繪畫生成過程，回應她所在意的純粹感知世界。
曨曨 Twilight, acrylic on canvas, 38x45.5cm (8F), 2016。圖/紅野畫廊提供
雀 High-spirited, acrylic on canvas, 31.5x41cm (6F), 2018。圖/紅野畫廊提供
在思想背景上，她旅居日本後接觸到約瑟夫．墨菲（Joseph Denis Murphy）的《潛意識的力量》，書中談及對於如何透過心想、內在信念的操練、凝聚，來使潛意識轉換為自我機運的心念法則，將抽象精神力轉化為現實力量，此種觀念使她深受觸動。
凝 Gaze, acrylic on canvas, 60x49.5cm (15F), 2013。圖/紅野畫廊提供
就創作的操作面來看，鄭瓊娟的作品不打草稿，來自回憶、思索或心中的抽象感知內容出現後，她直接在畫布作畫。即使作品中常有自然的元素，但在她的繪畫裡，更傾向為內在宇宙與外在自然的呼應。透過感知形成「心理圖像」，最後使這種「象」（抽象狀態的表徵）轉化成視覺上的「相」（視覺的具體樣貌）。因不先預期最終的製圖成果，起先的「心理圖像」，也可能受感覺或想法的變化，就像天體及星雲，經由不同磁場、引力、附近高光度恆星的輻射與電離形成不同光色，或星球碎片相互碰撞產生改變。
泳 Movement, oil on canvas, 45x53cm (10F), 2005。圖/紅野畫廊提供
鄭瓊娟的創作不依形而摹，強調生命聚散與擴張的過程，「自然並不是一個固定的自身完成之物，可以離開精神而獨立存在，反之，惟有在精神裡自然才達到它的目的和真理。」mdash 黑格爾（G. W. F. Hegel）《小邏輯》
而繪畫中氣蘊飽滿與渾厚的氣息，是鄭瓊娟在內在精神中，將感知外化為生命力表現。另一方面，在繪畫的技法處理上，也有種格外敏銳的筆端觸知，特別在形與形之間，以及體積與背景即將要融合的瞬間，採用內旋式的運筆表現氣韻，或用畫刀、細筆勾劃雷電、身體神經系統般的細線，讓作品中的描繪物，叢聚為能量的團塊。它們：發電、擴張、燃燒、崩散、外化與內縮，以單叢的氣旋，連接、聚合至繪畫整體的宇宙中。
翔 Hover, oil on canvas, 72.5x91cm (30F), 2005。圖/紅野畫廊提供
她的繪畫視角常也是「局部」的，在氣息與內蘊的豐沛性上，帶有廣闊的格局。描繪生命體的方式，通常以兩種不同的力量氣質展現，一是輕柔如煙、氣、羽毛的筆法，表現大隱於蒼穹的無形生命，二是用蘸滿顏料的畫筆在畫面上以「渾」、「運」，拖曳與點繪的方法，象徵意識的擴張，之於宇宙整體與虛空中，生長、轉化成個體生命的狀態。
鴻 Imposing, acrylic on canvas, 60.5x72.5cm (20F), 2014。圖/紅野畫廊提供
頌 Anthem, acrylic on canvas, 41x31.5cm (6F), 2018。圖/紅野畫廊提供
鄭瓊娟的藝術，始終呼應著她人生旅途中「自由追求」及「心念法則」信仰。藉由體察生命整體的「意識星雲」與回應個人的「內觀宇宙」，兩者相互作用下，表現為動態的生命統一體，引領精神意象的穿越。
湍 Torrent, acrylic on canvas, 162.5x112cm (100P), 2019。圖/紅野畫廊提供@P
The Nebula of Consciousness and the Universe of Vipassana: CHENG Chung-Chuanrsquos Paintings
In the history of human exploration of the astronomical universe, it was discovered early on that stars that are sometimes formed by ldquoclumpsrdquo, and ldquonebulardquo are generally referred to as ldquoDiffuse nebulardquo, which also represent the process of compaction and expansion from abstract to figurative at the beginning of the formation of the universe.
The philosopher Baruch de Spinoza, on the other hand, refers the existence of the universe to a single entity (substance), from which he differentiates between ldquoNatura naturansrdquo (God or Nature) and ldquoNatura naturatardquo (all things, living beings and matter), equating God with nature. Creative power and the logic of life are, in a sense therefore, derived from the natural law, which is immanent rather than transcendent.
Aura, oil on canvas, 145.5x112cm (80F), 2010. copyPowen Gallery
Universe, oil on canvas, 130x162cm (100F), 2005. copyPowen Gallery
If we take this merging of the created and creation in the immanence to explain the subconscious, ego, spirituality and nature in Cheng Chung-Chuanrsquos paintings, it is indeed the process of transformation from abstract awareness to concrete forms. From the fluidity and spontaneousness of her works, one can feel, in her paintings, the ldquoNebula of Consciousnessrdquo creating lines which took the form of airflow, manifesting as the Universe of Vipassana through different forms of nature and living beings.
Chengrsquos paintings sometimes embody and express through figurative ldquogesturesrdquo, such as plants and flowers, the silhouette of mountains, star trails, clouds, airflow, borders and lines of consciousness. They do not resemble specific plants in the real world, nor are they replicas or re-presentation of a particular natural landscape. They are the ldquoflowers of spiritualityrdquo and ldquothe Universe of Vipassanardquo. Comprehending the abstraction of Chengrsquos painting through the compaction and expansion of the ldquonebulardquo is tantamount to savouring her response to the purely perceptual world from her mental activities and creative process.
Twilight, acrylic on canvas, 38x45.5cm (8F), 2016. copyPowen Gallery
High-spirited, acrylic on canvas, 31.5x41cm (6F), 2018. copyPowen Gallery
Intellectually, during her stay in Japan, Cheng came across The Power of Your Subconscious Mind by Joseph Denis Murphy, in which she was deeply inspired by the concept of how to transform the subconscious mind into the mentality of self-regulation and motivation through the practice of mindfulness, inner beliefs and alignment, transforming abstract spiritual power into the power of actualization.
Gaze, acrylic on canvas, 60x49.5cm (15F), 2013. copyPowen Gallery
In terms of the creative process of her practice, Cheng does not make drafts but rather paints directly onto the canvas when her memories, thoughts or abstract perceptions emerge. Even though there are often elements of nature in her works, she tends to echo the inner universe with the outer nature in her paintings. Through perception, a ldquomental imagerdquo is formed, and this ldquoimagerdquo (a representation of an abstract state of mind) is eventually transformed into a visual ldquoformrdquo (a concrete visual appearance). Without anticipating the final outcome, the initial ldquomental imagerdquo may alter and reshape in the changes of feelings, perceptions or thoughts, as in the case of celestial bodies and nebulae, form or reflect variations of colours due to the different magnetic fields, gravitational forces, radiation and ionisation from nearby high-luminosity stars, or change by the collision of planetary fragments.
Movement, oil on canvas, 45x53cm (10F), 2005. copyPowen Gallery
The artistic practice of Cheng follows not the form but emphasizes the process of compaction and expansion of life. ldquoThe distinction between Nature and Mind is not improperly conceived when the former is traced back to reality, and the latter so fixed and complete as to subsist even without Mind: in Mind it first, as it were, attains its goal and its truth.rdquo Shorter Logic, G. W. F. Hegel. (Friedrich amp Wallace, 1975)[1]
The fullness and richness permeated in her paintings is an expression of Chengrsquos externalisation of her perceptions into a kind of vitality in her inner mind. As for her approach to painting, she retains a particularly keen sense of brushwork, especially manifested in the moments between forms, and when the volume and the background are about to merge. She employs an inwardly rotating style of brushstrokes to express the resonance or uses a painting knife or a fine brush to delineate lightning or fine lines resembling the bodyrsquos nervous system so that the objects in her works clustered into energy masses. They generate, expand, burn, crumble, externalise and contract, in a single cluster of cyclones, connecting and converging into the universe of the painting as a whole.
Hover, oil on canvas, 72.5x91cm (30F), 2005. copyPowen Gallery
Chengrsquos paintings are often ldquopartialrdquo in perspective, with an expansive manner in terms of their richness in the resonance of fluidity and essence. The way she depicts living beings is usually expressed in two different ways: the first is a gentle brushwork akin to smoke, air and feathers, expressing the formlessness of life obscured in the sky the second is the use of a brush dipped in paint, through the ldquorobustrdquo and ldquoheavyrdquo brushwork of dragging and dotting, symbolises the expansion of consciousness, which grows and transforms into the state of individual life in the universe as a whole and in the void.
Imposing, acrylic on canvas, 60.5x72.5cm (20F), 2014. copyPowen Gallery
Anthem, acrylic on canvas, 41x31.5cm (6F), 2018. copyPowen Gallery
Cheng Chung-Chuanrsquos art reverberates earnestly her belief in the ldquofreedom to pursuerdquo and ldquoa substantial mentalityrdquo of her life journey. Through the interaction between ldquothe Nebula of Consciousnessrdquo, which is a reflection of the whole of life, and the ldquothe Universe of Vipassanardquo, which is a response to the individual, the two are expressed as a dynamic unity of life, leading to a traversal of spiritual imagery.
Torrent, acrylic on canvas, 162.5x112cm (100P), 2019. copyPowen Gallery
[1] Friedrich, H.G.W. and Wallace, W. (1975) Hegelrsquos logic. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
