Life is the redemption of the self from loneliness. Even when memory is lost, the heart still moves toward its destined direction. The human being possesses an inherent guiding ability, and that is what makes one truly oneself. One of Ye Guozhi’s themes is lost and found, and within this process, he affirms the true essence of things, a sense of time, the continuity of memory and self-identity, and the relationship between memory and the material world. Capturing memory (recording how time briefly lingers between the eyes and the heart) is far trickier than capturing a reality that has already been organized by concepts or the dreams that emerge. The key lies in the gaze, not what is seen. Through the eye beyond the painting, one reaches the heart within. What the artist wishes to preserve is the open, personal experience, rather than something quickly categorized into a system of traits. Ever-changing like the artist, complex like art history. Everyone tries in various ways to rediscover a creation that no one else has. When one stops creating, talent no longer matters, and all that remains is taste. Taste can reject others, narrowing one’s perspective. There is no art of truth, only the artist’s truth. We cannot hold onto anything; we can only dance with those ever-changing moments. Thus, the artist is entrusted with two tasks: one is to seek the eternal, and the other is to record the fleeting, turning it into eternity. Ye Guozhi measures the world with the scale of faith, always on the road, training himself to endure more pain, for the more pain he can bear, the more answers he finds. Every artwork of his is a segment of fleeting time, a reflection of the era upon the soul. The fusion of scene and emotion (the idea that all landscapes are expressions of emotion) becomes the guiding principle. The landscape is material, but the heart is supreme; the landscape lies outside, but it is to be appreciated through the heart. Merging the spirituality of life with nature, without intention in depicting objects, yet with intention in expressing scenes, letting the heart dictate, brings forth a paper full of atmosphere and feeling. The highest level of creativity is not about immersive engagement but rather an elusive detachment, a proper distance and quiet estrangement. A good technique is one that allows the viewer to feel the absence of technique. The resonance of artistic aesthetics is far more important to the audience of work than the nebulous, power-laden narratives of art history. Time, it seems, never passes justly; it does not stop for our laughter or tears but always takes what it is meant to take on schedule. Some discard, some treasure, some forget, and some memorize. What was seen, is no longer seen; what was remembered, is forgotten… What was unseen, is now seen; what was forgotten, is now remembered… The night sky always holds the densest blue, the endless dark that spirals downward and the shimmering brilliance of each step sends shivers down one’s spine, briefly brightening in the shadow of the iceberg. Twixt now and sunrise, we bid farewell to youth before the sun rises, and let sorrow end with the dawn.