Attachment.Whisper 3

Bright blooming flowers cover the foreground of Attachment · Whispers 3. Two young women in plain white clothing stand behind the flowers, holding hands in a close embrace. In examining the relation between the foreground flowers and the sitters, the picture plane appears skewed. The flowers seem superimposed onto the composition, creating a sense of ambiguity that also relate to the nature and relationship of the two young women. Further expanding the metaphor, flowers in bloom allude to the women’s youth and beauty. However, the painting’s tone takes a turn upon reading the women’s faces. Their silence and downward gaze suggest a melancholy or fear that their embrace may come to an abrupt end. The artist Guo Kai intentionally divided the composition into two mismatched canvases, thus splitting the sitters’ torsos in half. It is precisely the visible division that signify the delicate nature of the two women’s embrace.