NARRATOR:
Untitled (Picture of Voice Number One) is a set of three oil paintings on canvas created by Xie Nanxing in 2001. Each painting measures 220 centimetres high and 380 centimetres wide.
The three paintings are arranged in a row from left to right. All of them have the same blue-grey tone and are blurry impressions of scenery, resembling works made with indigo dyeing or printing techniques. Each painting captures a moment you may encounter when driving at night on a road lit only by streetlights and headlights.
The painting on the left depicts a riverbank, with the river running in the foreground at the bottom. In the middle ground is a patch of woodland, while the scenery towards the top appears to be a cityscape. A row of tall trees from the other side of the river is reflected on the water surface, their dim colours conveying a sense of melancholy. The distant and misty cityscape shimmers, reminding the viewer of buildings lit up after dark.
The middle painting depicts a scene on a road. Towards the centre-right of the picture, an oncoming vehicle, maybe a taxi or a private car, approaches at a close distance of one or two vehicle lengths. Its headlights are so bright, they create halos in the centre of the picture.
The road in the painting on the right looks much wider, like a four or five-lane highway. There is only one vehicle on the right lane, seemingly advancing with its rear lights on. Lamp posts flank the highway and recede in the far end. At a glance, they seem to form a horizontal line in the middle of the canvas. A few long light trails are scattered in the air. In the background, indiscernible objects lie in near darkness. It is difficult to tell whether they are hills, buildings, or clouds.
Overall, this set of paintings shows a hazy combination of light and shadow. Each painting has fine horizontal lines running across it, resembling a still image captured from a low-resolution video on a television screen.
