'Aowen Jin's group of paintings, Two Nudes, hung freely from the ceiling so I very nearly walked into them. This Goldsmiths College graduate is of Chinese origin and painting on textiles (traditionally silk) is part of her native culture. Aowen had actually painted calico to look like the most luxurious, tactile, velvet. Layer upon layer of tonal work had created the illusion of folds of red drapes drawn back to reveal sections of bare bodies, like a picture from a naughty Victorian peep show. Fascinated by body language, Aowen photographed real people in set poses, digitally manipulated the pictures to achieve the right balance of light and shade and a more surreal effect, then painted the final composition. Her work engages the viewer with its ambiguity about which body part belongs to whom. Are they male or female? And that lighting effect that subtly draws the eye up to the groin... ooooh; what's going on there? A second look at the big toes in ‘Two Legs’ revealed two right legs which intensified speculation about the whole painting. I found myself sinking behind the suspended canvas, my imagination expecting more flesh to be revealed on the back... but the voyeurism was frustrated! Another depiction of a sumptuous curtain concealed the intimate goings-on. Brilliantly conceived and well executed, Aowen could start a new artistic trend with her style of work.'
Art Scene from Canary Wharf Magazine - August 2006 (Extract)