Balloon, 2023 — Wu Xiaoran

Balloon, 2023
Oil on plywood
30 x 40 cm

This is an oil painting based on a clip of a US Air Force operation in 2023, depicting an AIM-9X missile fired by an F22 fighter jet about to destroy a large balloon. Since the balloon is at 30,000 metres height and the recording is from a fast flying F15 fighter jet at an altitude around 15,000 metres, the fuzzy video is unable to clearly record this critical moment. Therefore, the artist imagines the serene but imminent explosion. Due to its near-perfect sphere, it was impossible to tell if it was a celestial body or an artifact, and its ghostly quality is depicted as by artist’s brush. Yet, its mechanical parts and sharp missiles create a strong contrast. The he eternally azure sky is the perfect backdrop for the explosion. In 0.1 seconds, everything in the picture will go down in smoke.

这是一幅根据 2023 年美国空军行动片段创作的油画，描绘了一架 F22 战斗机发射的 AIM-9X 导弹即将摧毁一个大型气球的场景。由于气球在 3 万米的高空，而录制画面的是一架快速飞行的 F15 战斗机，高度约为 1.5 万米，模糊的视频无法清晰地记录下这一关键时刻。因此，艺术家想象出了宁静但迫在眉睫的爆炸。由于其近乎完美的球体，无法分辨它是天体还是人工制品，其鬼魅般的气质被艺术家用画笔描绘出来。然而，它的机械零件和锋利的导弹却形成了强烈的对比。永恒蔚蓝的天空是爆炸的完美背景。0.1 秒后，画面中的一切都将烟消云散。

Painting Tiny Times, 33ml Offspace, Shanghai

Wu Xiaoran

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