zhang Infinite Cage

My work explores the relationship between the chair and the cage, and the issues of female identity, gender politics, and social control that it raises. My art seeks to challenge traditional societal roles and expectations of women, and to highlight the limitations and restrictions placed upon them.

Through the use of chairs and cages, I explore the dual nature of power and freedom, and how these concepts are intertwined with gender politics. By depicting women as both imprisoned and empowered, I aim to shed light on the complex and often contradictory ways in which women are viewed and treated in society.

In my work, I also draw on local artistic traditions and cultural values to further explore the meanings and symbolism of chairs and cages. For example, in my recent series, I have incorporated elements of traditional Chinese art and symbolism, for example, elements of nature like feathers and driftwood. In addition, I employ rope to connect my various works but also to suggest control and limited freedom.

Ultimately, my art seeks to create a space for dialogue and reflection on the ways in which gender and power intersect in our society. By challenging traditional notions of femininity and advocating for greater freedom and agency for women, I hope to inspire and empower others to do the same.

无限的笼子

这个系列的作品探讨了椅子和笼子之间的关系, 以及涉及到的女性身份、性别和社会控制的议题。通过作品重新审视社会对女性的角色和期望,并突显对她们施加的限制和约束。

椅子和笼子似乎具备了权力和自由的双重性质,又如与性别文化的交织。通过将女性描绘成既被囚禁又被赋予权力的形象,以自我的视角描述社会对女性的看法和对待方式中存在的复杂和矛盾。

在这些作品中,我借鉴了传统艺术和文化价值观,以进一步探讨椅子和笼子的含义和象征意义。例如,在系列作品中,我融入了传统中国艺术和象征主义的元素,比如自然元素,羽毛和漂木。此外,我使用绳子在空间中或松或紧地连接作品,暗示了控制和自由的维度。

最终,我的作品旨在创造一个关于性别和权力在我们社会中交汇方式的对话和反思空间。通过挑战传统的女性气质观念,探索自由和权力的议题。

Wunderblock

This exhibition focused on memory, with the interpretations and reflections upon the concept exemplified in the curated selection of works, encompassing 16 new and recent works. Multiple dimensions of memory are explored in this distinctive practice – personal and familial, public and historical, spiritual and subconscious. Throughout, the fragility and mystery of memories and their making serve as creative fodder, while the process of art-making itself becomes an exercise in remembering.

I use mixed media works using earthen materials, natural pigments, fabric, and rice paper, along with a combination of found, collected, and treasured items from the my life. Warm-toned, loose pigments are adhered to each assemblage, resembling dust – an aesthetic and conceptual rock of my practice that signifies the organic cycles of life. Informed by the concept of “wabi-sabi” and my experience of living in Japan for 13 years, I relish the imperfections in both the natural world and my work, always leaving evidence of my hand to connect with viewers. Layers upon layers of fabric and rice paper, at times totaling between 20 and 30 strata, resemble the chaos and complexity of memory and its manipulation over time. Myriad objects, from seashells to used tea bags, anchor my abstract depictions of the psyche in the concrete ephemera that scaffold her recollections.

神秘手写板

这个展览聚焦于记忆, 通过这些作品对概念的诠释和反思,涵盖了多个记忆维度,个人与家族、公共与历史、精神与潜意识。在创作中,记忆的脆弱和神秘性都作为灵感的来源,而制作过程本身则成为一种记忆的记录。

各种材料的混合成为作品的媒介,包括绵布,宣纸,灰土以及天然颜料,还有从我的生活中收集和珍藏的带有记忆的物品。暖色调处理恰如温暖的回忆散落在每件作品的组合上,灰尘成为我的关注和概念基石,正如尘归尘的生命循环。磨损的痕迹体现着时间的价值,"侘寂"的美学概念启发我去表现不完美的美与留在影子中的沉淀,通过层层疊疊的制作传达类似于记忆及其随时间变化的混乱和复杂性。从沙土到用过的茶包,各种各样的物品将我的心理抽象描绘固定在具体的随时崩塌的废墟上。

2020-2022

The past two years have been like wading in quicksand, difficult and long. Because of the spread of the pandemic, our bodies are physically stuck. The daily news exasperates and generates a psychological sadness as well as anxiety. All kinds of panic and uncertainty make people feel at a loss, like watching a tragedy in the brightness of the sun. There is a strong sense of unreality. The word death has become less and less shapeless, and it has become less and less distant. I started to feel lucky to be alive.

Because of the pandemic, my home and studio were my only refuge. In this relatively closed space, one can see oneself more clearly in loneliness, that is, macroscopically and microscopically, listening to oneself, the body becomes a comprehensive receptor of perception and memory, and it breaks through the limitations of the body, just like a tearing away emotions. The original background of human nature can provide a space for everyone in the changes of the environment, making people feel both isolated and interdependent. Think about it, isn’t this world made up of every fragile individual? This kind of consciousness has undoubtedly broadened the breadth of understanding life and has become an emotional driving force. Because distance makes me pay more attention to everything in front of me, objects large and small bring very specific information in my eyes. They are both interdependent and magical. Any small form can affect my sight and nerves more than ever. I use this vehicle of discovery to connect my works. Maybe only by working non-stop can I calm my anxiety. I want the work to make up for the lack of security and find a flowing soft healing to allow me to reflect my own way, and let the vision touch the real existence in an illusory reality.

2020-2022

2020 年像是在流沙中行走, 艰难又漫长。因为疫情的蔓延我感觉身体被物理上卡住了,而心理却充满了悲伤,愤怒和焦虑。各种恐慌和不确定让人无所适从,像是在阳光下观看悲剧,有种强烈的不真实感。死亡这个词变得越来越没有形状,也变得越来越并不遥远。我开始为还活着而感到幸运。

因为疫情,家成了唯一的避难所。在这相对封闭的空间里,我更关注眼前的一切,大大小小的物件在我眼里都有特别具体的信息,既独立又魔幻,任何细小的形态与缺失都比以往更能牵动我的视线和神经。我用这种发现的方式去连接我的作品,也许只有不停地工作才能平复心里的不安。我想让作品以自己的方式发声,让视觉去触摸真实的存在。只有看到的才能证明我们的信任系统。

Diary

The diary is one of a series of works. I have made more than one hundred works of this diary series, large and small, in different formats. They are recording all kinds of feelings this year. Because the epidemic is isolated from people, but the daily news comes in different ways, and sometimes it suddenly feels tranced and untrue, and some things seem to exist but not exist. Very uncertain, but there is always something heavy lingering.

日记

日记是一系列作品之一。 我以不同的格式制作了一百本大小不同的日记系列。 他们今年记录了各种各样的感受。 由于该流行病是与人隔离的,但是每日新闻以不同的方式出现,有时它突然变得隐秘和不真实,有些事情似乎存在但不存在。 非常不确定,但总有一些沉重的东西挥之不去。

Internal Landscape

2020 feels like wading in quicksand, difficult and unending. The spread of the pandemic has left me feeling physically and psychologically trapped filled with sadness, anger, and anxiety. All kinds of panic and uncertainty contribute to confusion. What are we to do? I look out the window in the morning at a beautiful day, but there is a strong sense of unreality. This includes my individual life, affections, relationships and my place in society. The word death has become more and more shapeless as it beomes less and less distant. Sometimes I feeI lucky to be alive.

Because of the pandemic, my home became my refuge. We are forced to isolate and maintain distance. The physical, psychological, and emotional consequences are contradictory and complicated, isolated yet interdependent. Social media is flooded with real and false news every day. In this relatively closed space, I feel a deep uncertainty about the world. The only thing I can confirm is my body's response to the outside world. I want to understand myself through the perception and awareness of body and mind. The body is not just a vehicle that carries consciousness. Without a body, without intuition, we would not exist. The pliability of our body, from birth to death, exists in a conservation of rhythm. Our neuroplasticity plays a role in our daily activities, constantly influencing the brain's response to experience. All the unknowns, potentials, and future changes exist in ourselves. The intricate yet fragile mechanisms that arise from the internal body are implemented in my work, like a transformation from the body to a visible translation establishing a real internal state, sometimes clear, sometimes ambiguous, attractive but filled with tension. This forms a kind of landscape, a kind of dialogue from inside to outside that occurs naturally. This includes physical and psychological entanglement and sensitivity. It is as if one can see the destruction, disappearance, splitting, and the rhythm of nerve endings. At the same time, I’m aware of a kind of body temperature, soft flowing, continuous and warm. I search for the material existence and psychological trajectory of the individual.

I like to choose familiar materials such as cloth and rice paper. These materials are both fragile and enduring. The stretchable cloth is malleable almost acting like a second skin. Rice paper is a material that I have never given up since learning from a young age. I like the flow of ink and the resulting texture. This tangible yet changing feeling always affects my vision throughout the production process. This allows me to follow my body and feel connected. More importantly, I like the free expression that emphasizes subjective feelings.

I use this method of self-discovery to connect with my work. My work is part of a self-healing exercise. I try to tap into the unspoken wisdom of my body. Ironically, as I’m engaged in this process of self-examination, we have to rely on virtual communication through the computer. I am forced to feel reality virtually. Perhaps only by working non-stop can I calm my anxiety. I want to make the work sound in its own way and let the visual interaction touch real existence. It’s hard to know what to trust, but I choose to trust what I see and represent it in my work.

内部景观

2020年就像是在流沙中跋涉, 艰难而永无止境。 流行病的蔓延使我感到在生理和心理上陷于悲伤,愤怒和焦虑之中。 各种恐慌和不确定性加剧了混乱。 我们接下来干吗? 早晨,我在美丽的一天看着窗外,但有一种强烈的不真实感。 这包括我的个人生活,情感,人际关系以及我在社会中的地位。 死亡这个词变得越来越无形,因为它变得越来越远。 有时我觉得我很幸运地活着。

由于这一流行病,我的家成了我的避难所。 我们被迫隔离并保持距离。 身体,心理和情感上的后果是矛盾和复杂的,孤立而又相互依存的。 社交媒体每天都充斥着真实和虚假的新闻。 在这个相对封闭的空间中,我对世界充满了不确定性。 我唯一可以确认的是我的身体对外界的反应。 我想通过对身心的感知和认识来了解自己。 身体不仅仅是承载意识的媒介。 没有身体,没有直觉,我们就不会存在。 从出生到死亡,我们身体的柔韧性始终保持节律。 我们的神经可塑性在我们的日常活动中发挥着作用,不断影响着大脑对体验的反应。 所有未知,潜力和变化都存在于我们自己中。 内部身体产生的机制在我的工作中得到了实现,例如从身体到可见翻译的转变建立了真实的内部状态,有时是清晰的,有时是模棱两可的,有吸引力的,但充满了张力。 这形成了一种景观,一种自然发生的从内到外的对话。 这包括身心上的纠缠和敏感性。 好像可以看到神经末梢的破坏,消失,分裂和节律一样。 同时,我意识到一种体温,柔和的流动,持续的温暖。 我在寻找个体的物质存在和心理轨迹。

我喜欢选择熟悉的材料,例如布和宣纸。 可拉伸的布具有延展性,几乎像第二层皮肤一样。 宣纸是我从年轻时就从未放弃过的材料。 我喜欢墨水的流动以及由此产生的纹理。 这种有形和不断变化的感觉始终影响着我在整个生产过程中的视野。 这使我可以跟随自己的身体并感到连接。 更重要的是,我喜欢强调主观感觉的自由表达。

我使用这种自我发现的方法来联系我的工作。 我的工作是自我修复运动的一部分。 具有讽刺意味的是,在进行自我检查的过程中,我们必须依靠通过计算机进行的虚拟通信。 我被迫虚拟地感受到真实的存在。 也许只有不停地工作才能缓解我的焦虑。 我想以自己的方式制作作品,让视觉互动触及真实的存在。 很难知道要信任什么,但是我选择信任我所看到的并在工作中代表它。

Incursion

Incursion is not only physical, but psychological. It could be an obvious intrusion or collision, a slow infiltration or a kind of nervous disorder. The violation of physical rights and moral rights originate from political and cultural violence. The body is a way through which we communicate with culture, but is also an inherently private matter. The body collects information everywhere, whether it’s from a catastrophic crash, hidden signal or subtle warning. Made of skin and blood, our bodies are soft and easy to stretch or manipulate. The body is highly sensory and when invaded, the intrusion causes damage to the skin through the distribution of neurons connected to the skin, bones, joints and internal organs. This process affects our judgment, informing our response and through the body's response, people develop a specific feeling or emotion. It is a broad, fast, accurate, and profound experience.

侵入

侵入不仅是身体上的,而且也是心理层面的。 它可能是明显的侵犯碰撞,亦或是缓慢的浸润甚至可触及人的神经。无论物理或是精神权力上的侵犯常常源自于政治和文化的暴力。身体是隐私的同时也是我们与外界交流的方式,面对灾难性事故,无论是隐藏的信号还是微妙的警告,身体都会从各处收集信息。从皮肤到血液,我们的身体与生具备了柔软的特性,易于拉伸和操纵。但身体具有很高的感觉力,当受到侵害时,会通过分布在皮肤,骨骼,关节和内脏器官上的神经元分布而对人造成损害,这个过程会影响我们的判断力,并且通过身体的回应,我们会产生特定的感觉或情感。这是广泛,快速,准确和深刻的经验。

Our “Body”: Ourselves

The body is the starting point for my discourse, my language, and my art.

My art focuses on the topic of women’s identity and how it is historically and culturally constructed. Women have occupied a vast array of positions across cultures for centuries. We have been twisted, broken, gazed upon, judged, and forced to reside in an unfair, exploitative arena. The female body is the beginning of life, but instead of being respected it is objectified, stereotyped and depicted in a way divorced from reality.

“She” is not only a physical "thing", but also a living expression of language, culture, and experience. The body and language are integrated.

“Body” is an active moving force and an arsenal for claiming rights.

In the context of our consumer era, our aesthetics are forced to confront numerous material obstacles. The body is an important place to begin for understanding how to think about the social construction of gender and its connection to aesthetics, ethics, and culture.

I use mixed media to move beyond traditional boundaries. I try to eliminate anything that is unnecessary. I choose basic materials that are easily found in any household. I want my make the form free and as close as possible to my original intention. I enjoy utilizing fabric in that it can be stretched, sewn, and molded, almost functioning like a second skin.

The body is not the object of consumption by power and desire, but a vehicle to implement change. An inspired and enhanced consciousness establishes a new sense of self that will lead to a better place in the world for both women and men. The body itself has a huge source of energy and wisdom. We need to listen to our hearts through the expression of our bodies. Intuition, experience, empathy, compassion, and strength are the subjects of our consciousness and should define our language.

For me, the expression of the body is an empowering experience, and it is this I hope to share with those those experiencing Our “Body”: Ourselves.

我们的“身体”:我们自己

身体是我话语,语言和艺术的起点。

我的艺术专注于女性身份的主题以及它在历史和文化上的构建方式。几个世纪以来,妇女在各种文化中占据了广泛的地位。我们被扭曲,破碎,凝视,判断,并被迫居住在一个不公平,剥削的舞台上。女性身体是生命的开始,但它不是被尊重,而是以与现实脱节的方式被客体化,刻板印象和描绘。

“她”不仅是一种物质的“事物”,而且是一种语言,文化和经验的生动表达。身体和语言是一体的。

“身体”是一个积极的移动力量和一个声称权利的武器库。

在我们消费时代的背景下,我们的美学被迫面对众多物质障碍。身体是开始理解如何思考性别的社会建构及其与美学,伦理和文化的联系的重要场所。

我使用混合媒体超越传统界限。我试图消除任何不必要的东西。我选择在任何家庭中都很容易找到的基本材料。我希望我的表格自由,并尽可能接近我的初衷。我喜欢使用面料,因为它可以拉伸,缝制和模塑,几乎像第二层皮肤一样。

身体不是权力和欲望消耗的对象,而是实施变革的工具。一种灵感和增强的意识建立了一种新的自我意识,将为男女双方带来更好的世界。身体本身拥有巨大的能量和智慧。我们需要通过表达我们的身体来倾听我们的心声。直觉,经验,同理心,同情心和力量是我们意识的主题,应该定义我们的语言。

对我来说,身体的表达是一种赋权体验,我希望与那些体验我们“身体”的人分享:我们自己。

Sealed memory

Memory is complex. Time and reflection can both blur and clarify events. But another kind of memory is the memory that can’t be erased. After all these years, the dust has not settled. Memory is hard, but I cannot turn away from it. It has continuously lingered with me influencing my perspective on the world as well as my art. I witnessed history, was apart of it, and it shaped me.

1989 was my final semester of college. Many important events transpired that year. My college was 30 minutes walking distance from Tiananmen Square. As student demonstrations began and grew, we walked to the Square often. Because of our many visits, I felt that Tiananmen Square was very close, not only in distance, but in spirit to the campus of the Central Academy of Fine Arts. I soon began to feel that as I was walking between the school and the Square, I was traveling between the ideal and reality.

In the summer of that year, I began to take pride in my identity. I wore my own clothes celebrating my own personal style. I made them myself. This was an expression of a kind of youthful pride, and although not perfect, it was unique.

As I watched and experienced those days in June of 1989, I knew there was no place for me in my own culture, in my own country. Of course, our graduates of Central Academy did not have a graduation exhibition after the June 4th incident, and most left school.

I have since moved to and lived in both Japan and the United States. My Chinese memories have become precious and have been preserved during my experiences in different cultures.

How does one define youth? Is it unlimited dreams, unforgettable stories, and a stubbornness that cannot be detered? I remember assembly and protest evolving into violent suppression, tragic endings and subsequent bans. The memory is fixed in a state of extreme sadness. It lingers like a book that can’t be opened. I remember, but it is a sealed memory, very sensitive yet very violent.

When people ignore violence, or choose to forget, or become indifferent, this contributes to the problem. It creates anxiety in every corner of the world. It migrates into our consciousness whether we are aware of it or not and effects our daily lives. Many try to forget, and over time don't care anymore. Violence is not a historical anomaly. On the contrary, violence can actually be said to be the normal state of history. We see our world becoming more violent. War is everywhere. People suffer in the name of greed and power. This cannot help but to contribute to our collective unconscious, our sense of memory. We leave this to you to consider.

This installation is part of my sealed memory.

封存的记忆

记忆是一个庞杂的汇合,常常随着时间的流逝被模糊或变得清晰。 但另有一种记忆是每一次轻叩都会浮现在眼前的场面,挥之不去,它也许会被封存,但不会被遗忘。它会一直徘徊,就像没落定的尘埃,随着时间慢慢沉淀,成为一种见证,让我目睹历史,我也因此被改造。

1989,是我大学生活的最后一年。那一年发生了许多重大的事件。我所在的学校离天安门广场步行只需30分钟。随着那一年学生示威游行的开始和发展,我们经常走到广场。因为步行次数多了,觉得天安门广场离我们中央美术学院的校园的距离如此之近。感觉游走于学校和广场,理想和现实之间。

那一年的夏天,我开始意识到自己的身份,也特别喜欢穿自己做的衣服,因为有种青春的自豪,虽不完美,但独一无二。对年华的记忆后来变为异常珍贵, 以至于后来往日本,美国的搬移中一直珍藏着几件。

1989年6月之后,我感到的是彻底的迷茫。当然,我们那一届央美毕业生也在没有毕业展览的情况下,草草离校。

青春该怎样定义?有放逐的梦想,有刻骨铭心的故事,也有不甘于醉生梦死的固执。从集会,抗议,到暴力镇压,惨烈的结局以及之后的禁声。记忆被凝固定格在一种极端郁闷与悲情之中。似乎被沉睡, 像一本打不开的书。却实实在在地封存了一段记忆,很分裂很暴力。

当一种对来自暴力的强烈刺激被封住,人抑或从此选择遗忘,冷漠,无动于衷;抑或对于暴力格外敏感和关注。这个世界的焦虑不安呈现在各个角落,无论我们是否能察觉,人类暴力的本性,在日常中扮演的角色以及暴力的深层机制都毫不掩饰地存在着。 暴力并非历史的变态,相反,暴力其实可以说是历史的常态。暴力的演出一直在登峰造极。在我们的眼前所展示的是以贪婪和权力为名义的越来越暴力化的世界。在暴力记忆中的成长,以及集体无意识的暴力,留下了更多的是思考。

这个装置是我封存记忆的一部分。

Pliability

The body is like a flowing landscape. It is also like a reflective mirror revealing some memory in the migrating bundles of my work. These memories are reshaped in different crevices, enduring but sometimes hidden.
Everyone is looking for one’s own inner home. Even if it is vague, the initial psychological and physical response to the environment is always the most reliable. For example, in the face of toughness, you will try to protect yourself with softness and elasticity; in the face of softness, you will try to stretch as much as possible without margins and seek maximum freedom. And when you are in these moments, instinct is like a guardian that may retreat outside of consciousness. Only by taking a step back can you separate the spirituality of the body from its physicality. This is undoubtedly a product of culture.

This work is a continuation of my previous work and I hope to emphasize a sense of consciousness. This is not only about the entanglement of foreigners, strangers, visions, or concerns about gender, age, race and identity, but also the question of power structures and value systems. These consciousnesses accumulate and produce a strong anxiety, and anxiety causes the body to become a medium for revealing both the inner and external contradictions. This, in turn, produces a more effective expression and should be regarded as mirror images of the inner level as well as a way of expressing reality.

Using cloth that is usually worn close to the skin makes me feel a sense of body temperature during the production process. The white fabric always brings me to a poetic dreamlike state. It’s like entering a secret passage. This seems to be a necessary path, but the idea is always updated and activated and varied. The cut slit is like an open door or window, and the layers are stacked so that the viewpoint collides between the positive and negative spaces. In the changing field, the feeling of doing the work gradually disappears, accompanied by a sudden change in perception, and the handling of minute details often has a sense of transparency. For me, the seemingly empty openings are like fragile containers, containing an active motivating force.

In both tangible and invisible bondage, in the unpredictable thoughts, what is left to me is release, like finding a hidden exit.

软体

软体如同一个身体景观和流动的空间,也如一面虚拟的墙, 在缠绕捆绑中反射出对身体的某种记忆。这些记忆是一种游离于不同夹缝中被重塑的凝视,充满耐力而又时隐时现。

每个人都在寻找属于自己的内心家园。即使模糊,心理和身体对环境的反应总是最可靠的。比如,面对强硬你会设法用柔软和弹性保护自己;面对柔软你会尽量舒展以不设边限,寻找最大化的自由。而当你处于不同境遇中,本能的调节就如同一种守护,这也许隐退在意识之外。只有退一步才能看到身体脱离了其物体性而具有的灵性。它无疑是一种文化的产物。

这件作品是我以往作品的延续,希望强调一种自觉意识。这不仅仅是对异乡、异客、异象的纠结,或对性别、年龄、种族和身份的关注,更是对权力构架以及价值体系的质疑。这些意识堆积出浓重的焦虑,而焦虑又会让身体变成感知的媒介,转换成一种自我及外部的触知能力,继而产生比较有效的表达。它们应该算是内心层面的镜像,是对现实审视的一种表现方式。

使用通常贴体的布作为材料,使我在制作过程中一直会有一种体温感。在白色织物中的穿梭总会带给我幻觉和诗意,因轻快而被放逐,就像进入一个隐秘的通道,这似乎是一个必经之路,但设想总在变异中被更新激活。剪开的裂口就像被打开的门窗,层层叠叠让视点冲撞于正负空间之间。在变化的场域中,做作品的感觉会逐渐消失,随之产生感知上的突变,对微小细节的处理也常常有种扑面而来的透明感。对我而言,一个个貌似空洞的开口如同脆弱的容器,蕴含了活跃的原动力。

在有形无形的束缚中,在变幻莫测的思绪中,留给我的只是一个释放的出口。

Translution

Our perception of experience is direct, but at the same time, culturally shaped. Our judgments about ourselves and other people's existence and social behavior, our understanding and questioning about age, gender, race, identity and human rights will overlap in some form in the body. The psychological interaction with the body often affects my examination of the internal and external, and thus provides me with a little more understanding of human nature. I am gradually getting used to the point of view of the body as a point of entry to express a specific point in time. Creation is more difficult than completing a project, because grasping each detail through the complex connection of the body and the brain to precipitate and filter one’s own consciousness is no easy matter. Transforming a very figurative thing into an abstract emotion is undoubtedly an expression of the unique character of the individual. In a way, my work is a vehicle for organizing myself.

For me, "transparent body" is not only a record of mobility, but also an active reconciliation. Art is built around "people." People themselves have multiple contradictory attributes, and in the dynamics of imbalance-balance-unbalance, the brain drives us to create something to go forward. In the process of creation, I often get unexpected feelings due to the existence of various contradictions. Just like the transparency and lightness of the characteristics, there will always be a lingering sadness behind the material. Reality is the most solid foundation in the process of capturing an elusive idea. Creation is actually a vision that is presented by circular and repetitive memories. The difference is that this process enhances the body's perception, but the inner connection is inseparable.

I like the blank state after the complicated, entangled engagement, just like order after chaos, and like a translucent representation, which is a kind of moment of agility and change. The boundary is chaotic and full of tension, but all uncertain factors will provide a new impetus to thinking, to build and correct. And all this awakens my inner desire. Transparency can be both revealed and obscured, but it has an internal meaning. The choice of transparency is to express those parts that are both unforgettable and neglected. Even if they often rush into my sight in a flickering manner, there must be a specific reason for their existence. The clear and vague edges between the physical appearance and the internal are inherently appealing to me. Because it is pliable, it is full of unusual contradictions.

透明体

身体的感知经验最为直接,同时又是一种文化中介。 我们对自身和他/她人的存在以及社会行为的判断;对年龄;性别;人种;身份以及权利结构的认识和质疑都会以某种形式重叠在身体上。对身体体征符号的心理折射常会影响着我对从内向外的审视,进而对人性多一分理解。渐渐习惯于从身体作为切入点来表达特定时点的认识,与其说是创作不如说是整理,因为对每一个细节的把握都是通过身体和大脑的复杂连接来沉淀过滤自己的意识,在真实与虚拟之间,把一种非常具象的事物转化为一种抽象的情感,这无疑是带有个体的特有信息的综合表现。

对我而言“透明体”不仅是一种流动性的记录,也是一种主动的调和。艺术是围绕着“人”而展开来的。人自身都拥有多重矛盾的属性,在失衡-平衡-失衡的动态中大脑驱动我们去创造一些什么前行下去。而在创作过程中我常常也会因种种矛盾的存在而获得意外的感受,就像透明的轻盈特性中总会裹挟着挥之不去的一抹悲情隐于材料之后。在可以捕捉和转瞬即逝的确认过程中,现实是最为坚实的基础。创作其实就是靠着循环与重复的记忆来呈现出的视觉,不同的是这种诱发提升了身体的感知系统而令人浮想联翩,但内在的联系是密不可分的。

我喜欢那种在繁琐复杂纠结后的空白状态,就像混乱后的有序,也像一种半透明的呈现,是一种灵动和变化的种种瞬间,边界混沌但充满张力,所有的不确定因素都会给思维提供新的动力,去建立和修正。而这一切恰恰也唤醒了我内在的愿望。 透明既可显露又可遮蔽,具有呈现内部的意义。而有选择的透明性表达是为了表现那些不易忘却和被忽视的部分,它们即便常常以忽隐忽现的方式冲进我的视线,但一定有其特定的存在理由。而介于实体外观与内部的清晰与模糊的边缘对我有着本质上的吸引力。因为可塑,其中充满了各种矛盾,甚至诡异。

Things Fall Apart

This installation is a reaction. A confession. A reckoning.
It stops to acknowledge the madness of the world.
It speaks directly yet circuitously. It bludgeons and it hints.

There is too much information… too much misinformation… too much violence (visible or invisible, tangible or intangible) … too much confusion… too much truth… too much falsity… too many people... too many networks… too many things happening at once.

It breeches the body’s limits, this carnival and spectacle.
It breaks the human soul, this nothingness delivered with incessant fury.
It is more than one can take, and so,
        things
        fall
        apart.

Some pieces are burned and break up. This is just matter, nothing more than simple material molded into a shape, yet clearly there is pain here. One sees injury. Was it disease? Was it violence? What is it that breaks a woman’s body? Was she over-medicated or was she without access to treatment? Was it bearing children or bearing without them? Was it living invisibly under the heaviness of society’s expectations and power structures? Was it imprisonment or liberation? It is not just in China or America, it is everywhere. It is not just women, it is everyone. Bodies are pushed past their limits. The world’s problems are so evident, and so overwhelming. It is hard to make decisions. It is hard to make judgments. It is hard to know what is right. The outside stimulus is never-ending. Its violence is pardoned. There is no escape. It doesn’t matter if you like it or not. This is not natural for our minds or bodies. And so,
        things
        fall
        apart.

Each piece in this installation is a façade. A mask. We pretend to be intelligent, when in fact we do not understand. We pretend to be sure when we feel unsure. Our bodies are broken, but we pretend we are strong and powerful. We pretend to look okay, when inside, we are not.

Behind each surface, there is a deeper meaning. Amorphous shapes push through fabric stretched onto canvases. The abstraction forces the mind to wander in to a feeling. Art only gives you a part of something; there is another part you cannot see. One knows they are looking at some part of a human body, but cannot ascertain which muscle. The motion is evident, but the power is boxed in. These shapes try to break through the façade. But the energy cannot come out.

I begin every piece in the same way. When faced with a blank piece of canvas, my approach is this: do not resist. Follow that irresistible desire. It is like dipping my hand into a stream and feeling the current. The meditation allows something unseen to find its way out. What emerges was within me, but it was hidden until now. It lived within the temperature of my body, but it has been converted, transmuted, transported. It has entered the world and I see it for the first time. The work is a part of me but becomes an object in itself. Every piece in this installation was a surprise. Every piece, regardless of size, emerged from a physical psychological and physical memory. So each piece is impossible to repeat. Art is the individual's exploration of the inner self and the outward world.

Every step in this installation was a spontaneous discovery. Eggs can be seen scattered, clustered, in paths. They once carried bodies and now lay broken. Their shards are a testimony to birth and possibility. Every moment is unknown. Some people react with fear. But some feel nervous excitement of a second chance. The unknown can be welcomed with delight. It can either be seen as an end or a beginning when...
        things
        fall
        apart.

勢如累卵

這組裝置作品像是一種私密的反應 ,懺悔和清理。
身處一個瘋狂的世界,你的思維會提示你無法認可它,而這種提示看似矛盾, 直接又間接,濃重渲染卻又輕描淡寫。

這組裝置作品像是一種私密的反應 ,懺悔和清理。身處一個瘋狂的世界,你的思維會提示你無法認可它,而這種提示看似矛盾, 直接又間接,濃重渲染卻又輕描淡寫。

有太多的信息,,,太多錯誤的信息,,,太多(有形或無形,可視與不可視)的暴力 行為,,,太多的混亂迷惑,,,太多的真理和謊言,,,太多的人,,,太多的網絡,,,太多的事情同一時間發生。

它超越了人以及身體的承受底線,各種狂歡和假像帶出靈魂深處的不安,虛無夾裹著忿怒,一木難支,勢如累卵。

燒焦,解體,不期而遇的形狀以及材料的擠壓所呈現的更多的是傷害與痛感。變形?病態?施虐?不只限於女性的身體特徵?是過量的人為矯正還是任其病入膏肓的不聞不問?這有關兒童還是成人?還是我們生活在一個不可承受之重的社會權力結構之下的生存狀態?是被控制還是自由釋放?這不只是中國或美國,這種景象已滲入到生活的層層面面,無處不在,不限於年齡性別和身份。關乎到每一個人的生活。面對這種壓倒性的機制,人會無從決定和判斷對與錯。身外的刺激從未結束,無法逃避的現實是對暴力的容忍。無論你是否願意接受,頭腦和身體在非自然的暴力凌駕之下勢如累卵。

裝置的每一部分是局部的外觀,如同面具。人人似乎知道很多,但實際上又什麼都不明白,當我們不確定時卻要表現得確切無異。身心超載時卻要證明自己的強大。內心糾葛掙扎卻要假裝平安無事。

每一塊作品表面背後都有另一層關聯的意義,通過織物的伸拉糾纏呈現出無定形的形狀。抽象的力量往往可以提供一種連接內心的感覺。藝術只為你提供一個可視的組成部分,而另一面無法看到的內涵卻連接著身體與心理的反應。對我而言,也許不確定的肌肉卻會帶有明顯的意象,又純屬一種內部的消耗。形狀似乎超越表面,但能量卻鎖在了裡面。

面對一塊畫布,一堆材料我總有種不可抗拒的願望。想做出點什麼。最習慣的方式是讓它自己從內部流出,而它會像浸漬到手上的一個流和感覺,那是當下的冥想,並非在尋找出路,只是順著那一瞬的感覺,像撫弄一股溪流。各種心理上的轉換都會成為暗示和轉變,在自覺與不自覺中作品會帶給我驚喜,也一定會有我的溫度。而此時意識的維度就會一直帶出各種暗示。那個過程就一直持續不斷地提供給我一個開放空間,無論大小,記述一種物理性的心理和身體的記憶。無論混屯還是細密。所以每一件作品幾乎是無法重覆。那是一個個人從內到外的挖掘。

這個裝置的每一個步驟都是一種順其自然的發現。聚散於地面上的卵正如被打破的碎片,而這些破碎卻又預示一種新的可能性。在一片混屯中,有人因混亂而恐懼,也有人因生機而欣喜。未知帶出新的可能性。勢如累卵,或許是結束,亦或許是開始,,,

Boundaries

A new place always brings the possibility of illusions. Creating an art piece means creating a new reality. The boundaries of my imagination get pushed by inconclusive elements. A flash of thought comes to me when past memories meet new encounters. For me, inspirations are born from the relationship among inner mind, physical body and environmental boundaries. What you can do is to reveal one of the features of the texture to its maximum, as the texture is unique and diverse by itself.

A sudden change or break down of the presence always comes with sharp damage. However, unlimited opportunities will rise between the end and the rebirth. Every piece of broken shards from the old presence shows both explosiveness and fragileness naturally. They speak with a special language consisting of fear and loneliness. This kind of visual reality is bittersweet. Dazzling. Finding a way out of the broken shards is thrilling. Within this piece or artwork, I tried to freeze the very moment of breaking a presence, to expose the fragileness behind the routine. Though presented in still visual art, it represents the flow of time and life.

To me, working is mostly a process of releasing inner energy. Full of expectations, surprises and challenges, it allows me to search for the right touch in the simplest way with easy access.

界限

新的空间总能给人带来一种幻觉的可能性。 重建一个作品意味着创造一个新的现实,而想像的界限也往往在各种不确定因素的刺激下充满可能性。但即便一瞬间出现的想法也大多来于各种曾经验过的心理感受与新气息的交错碰撞。 对我来讲,灵感始终来源于自身心理,身体以及环境的界限关系。而材料本身已有其特殊性与丰富性。你能做的就是把它的某种性质发挥到极致。与材料之间的互动关系常常是不期而遇的。

对状态的改变和颠覆往往带着尖锐的毁灭。而介于毁灭和新生之间充满了期许和能量。被打破的每一碎片都以自然的状态呈现着脆弱与爆发力,正如恐惧和孤独的语言方式总是夹杂着一抹神秘。这种视觉真实亦悲亦喜。眩目美丽。面对残缺而在其中找到新的定位过程是迷人的。这件作品我试尝用破裂去凝固生命力的流变瞬间。表达日常秩序之后被遮蔽的易变,脆弱的本质。虽以视觉有关,但更是对时间消逝以及生命消磨的状态表达。

对我来讲,工作最大的意义实际上是一种能量释放的过程。充满期待,惊喜和挑战,让你自由进来,自由出去。在尽可能的简洁,单纯中寻找感知方式。

0-Viewpoint

Creating art is a way of examining my inner self, my true self. Creating art is my way of interpreting various emotions and spiritual thoughts; to remove the mask in order to show the true face of human nature. At times, I will create art as a process of rethinking myself. In my life, I have experienced many impulses, both physical and mental, that have taken me from one place to another. I have adapted to new environments and cultures. Living at the intersection of Eastern and Western cultures has influenced my vision of life. My mind is usually hovering between what is real and what is imagined. Therefore my work is very personal and reflects my inner conflicts and struggles. Many events in our lives happen naturally and frequently. Over time, we may become apathetic and neglectful of everyday occurrences, and even ourselves. This illustrates how people think and navigate through life, but recognizing the significance of small items can influence how we see everything around us. Seemingly insignificant details reveal the sensitivities and weaknesses of human nature.

We are consistently being challenged by feelings of confusion and lucidity, loss and hope. In addition, the place between an actual experience and a dream could also make one feel lost as we often struggle and seek out a space in which to escape.

My work is emotional and embodies a relationship that falls between reality and dream, rather than a description of a specific story. My work utilizes images to provide hints and/or clues leaving the viewer to his or her own conclusions. Each individual viewer will have a unique way of seeing my work, according to the life experiences and psychological state that the viewer has at that time. I am attracted to a type of beauty that is flexible and uncertain, like a mood that is troubled and emotional, casual and sensitive. Imperfection indeed creates a new harmony. I have tried to metaphorically open a new space in my work to remind the viewers to interact with the piece. This allows them to dig out all the possibilities of the inner powers of the piece. Whether the reaction is positive or negative, it is an emotional response. This process of viewer creation promotes a way of seeking better solutions as well as other new energies.

When I create a piece, I feel like telling my viewers about my own stories. The interpretation and vision will be left up to my viewers to imagine and decide for themselves. I like to use direct and pure language to explain themes. I use simple and basic elements to do the job giving up unnecessary details in order to maintain the fundamental element of the inner meaning of the artwork. The clarity of the work creates an intellectual and emotional relationship with the viewers, rather than giving fixed anticipations and expectations. The exhibition space, in relation to the work, is meant to be a guiding or interpretive tool. The meaning of my work demonstrates a state of mind in everyday life: a friendly, familiar feeling. Therefore, I choose raw and ordinary materials to create familiarity, closeness, and to stir emotion. I hope to create an image containing a natural quality of tenderness and flexibility evoking the viewer's memories directly and peacefully. The purpose of using a white background is to give the effects of flatness, delicacy, ethereal and quiet. Differential light emphasizes the expansion of space, not only demonstrating clarity, but setting an assertive control of existence of "spirit." The molding and sense of light combine illusion and gender, suggesting that the activity of temperament is prone to meditation and spiritual freedom, at times drifting, at time rebellious.

The expansion of space creates a field with pressure, so the work is not fixed due to the various elements used, which also demonstrate the faces of vitality. During production, I work extemporaneously disregarding rules and boundaries. The freedom and diversity of artistic language enables me to find and channel my intimate needs of expression.

0-视点

艺术创作是我面对真实自己的途径。 我试图把某种心境与精神状态以自己的方式表现出来。剥开面具表现人性本质是一种自我认识与反省的方式。

在我的人生中出现过许多冲动,这些冲动把我从一个地方带到另一个地方,使我不得不在重新适应新的环境和文化的同时调整自己的心态,思考所面临的生存状态。东/西方文化交错的生活环境不断地冲击着我习惯的认识方式,我的思维常常徘徊于现实与梦想之间。因此我的作品是非常个人化的,所体现的是我内心的种种矛盾与挣扎。作品与其说是对生命的某种片断性的记忆,不如说是一种心理历程的暗示。是我无法从生命经验中摆脱的潜意识的真实。不同文化的相互渗透影响着我的价值观以及对人性的理解。我希望我的作品所提供的不是一个对其局部意义的解读,而是一种多元信息,使人不以世俗的观念来审视与判断她,并给与她以新的价值与生命。

在生活中有许多意识的发生因自然频繁使人麻木而忽视它的存在,但恰恰使这些被忽视的意识形态之中却体现着人性的本质,体现着人对信仰,信任,伦理责任与欲望的基本追求与思考。人性的敏感与脆弱也正体现在许多微不足道的生活细节之中。种种迷惑与质疑,希望与失落始终挑战着我们的心态。当生命经验与无限理想之间的距离使你无所适从时,内心的挣扎感是十分强烈的。我的作品讲述的是一种无法理清的头绪,是现实与梦想之间的关系,并非一个具体的故事描述。许多符号是一种心理的意向性表达。她反馈于来自人群中的“人”。不同的个体会根据自己的生命经验与心理状况对其做出反应与判断。

某种具有弹性的,不固定的美感对我总是有吸引力的,像是一种不安的精神与情绪,随意而感性。因不完美而产生一种新的和谐。我试图以隐喻和试探性的表达创造一个开放的空间,唤起人与作品本身的自由,让视觉体验在精神上产生一种能量,使观众与作品之间产生某种关联互动,产生一种心理反应,无论这种反应是从容还是拒绝,作品内部应该具有活力,从而去挖掘更多的可能性。制作的过程是我思考途径的延续。当我制作一件作品时,我感觉是在讲述一个和自己有关的故事,而解读的角度与视点取决于观看者。

我喜欢以直接,单纯的语言方式提炼出最基本最少的元素来表现主题。放弃不必要的细节,保持相对纯粹的效果是为了更准确地把握最为本质地作品内涵,使它因清晰而超出人们对它地预料与期待,产生一种智能与灵性地关系。空间现场与作品只是一种提案和线索。

我的作品表达的是日常心态,是一种亲切,熟悉的感觉,所以我尽量选择平凡朴 素的材料,营造一种近距离的以及贴肤的幻觉,这些自然的特质会带来心态的柔软与弹性,唤起潜在的记忆,让人直接,安心地接近和感受作品。

我喜欢使用白色所提供地平坦与精致,以及空灵与静谧的视觉效果,利用明度的微差处理是为了加强茫漠扩展的空间性,在清晰又不过于张扬的控制中显示作品的魂的存在。

轻量感的塑造是一种幻觉与性别的暗示,其活性气质易于产生一种冥想和精神上的自由。在深层的内涵意义上表达的是潜在的游离和反叛意识。空间的扩张性处理也正是为了造成一个具有压力的场,使作品因种种不固定的因素而显示其生命力。

在制作手法上我喜欢即兴地表达,不考虑规则与界限。艺术语言地自由和多样性更能使我找到我所需要地表达方式。只有在一种直觉状态下地自由创作,我的作品才能比较贴近自己,比较准确地表达自己的意图。

Daily Lives

Creating art is a process of self-examination, and this process enables me to collect my thoughts. We live in complex time that is in many ways defined by excessive want, greed, and waste. We all pursue a good life, but in this pursuit, do we really have choices? Without recognizing or aspiring to a specific destination, my art is a record of everyday life. This gives me an opportunity to look at myself more closely.

We all react to materials, whether we find them attractive or frightening. The desire for stuff makes one greedy and afraid at same time. We privilege finished commodities, but not how they are packaged. We shop at Safeway, but care little for the plastic shopping bags (unless we save them to collect more garbage). We ignore the cardboard used for packaging many of the goods we consume. We are overflowing with stuff, but this stuff must be made available to us and it has to be packaged. This packaging embodies a history and its own special language. Releasing plastic bags and cardboard from useless connections to human character enables one to redefine them. Perhaps they point to new concepts. Maybe their individual qualities have been neglected with the development of the consumer society. These objects contain many meanings that overlap. They represent our lifestyles. Damage, chaos, survival, and fragility define their relationship with humans. Faith and doubt are expressed in the objects illustrating the relationships between complexity and balance, order and disorder, attraction and repulsion.

I try to move freely in my works. Vast space blurs the boundary of areas and life events melt into a repeated circle. This is both my life and my work.

日常生活

藝術創作是一個自我內省的過程,我可以借助這個過程得以梳理自己的想法。 我們生活在一個看似複雜實質匱乏,處處充斥著貪婪和浪費的時代。除了對物質生活的無止境的追求我們還有別的選擇嗎?擁有更多就像一個失去意識的對特定目標的索取。我的藝術作品就是對日常生活的紀錄。這讓我有機會更近距離地瞭解自己。

人對物質的反應,佔有和恐懼同時並存。過度的消費往往對於購物的包裝是毫不介意的。這些被忽略的包裝品塑料袋和紙板卻具有紀錄特性。過剩的物質又被過剩地包裝使這些包裝品本身就具有了其特殊的存在方式。將塑料袋和紙板自身所擁有的信息從無用聯接到人而從新定義,也許會帶來新的概念和提示。隨著消費社會的發展,很多被忽視的特質包含了多重含義。它們代表了我們的某種生活方式,破壞,混亂,脆弱定義了物與人的關係。在複雜與平衡,有序與無序,誘惑與排斥之間令人充滿疑慮。

我盡可能在作品中尋求自由的表達空間和模糊的邊界。瑣碎的生活成為一個重複的循環。這就是我的生活和工作。

A passage of '0'

Our keen awareness of life often transcends us to a realm of much deeper intuition ripened for our spiritual awakening. This spiritual awakening discerns the taste of an artwork. The realm of '0' has always inspired me to search for the rhythm of life's essence or its energy when released.

My works care more about life than a mere creativity expression of making arts. I've committed to connecting my life experience with life's changes evolving around the shape of '0'.

Often the ordinary objects in my life as tiny as a drop of water, a piece of withered wood branch or a handful of sand from nature can arouse my most delicate feelings for them. They frequently become my sources of inspiration to transform these '0s' into my artworks.

Because these materials come from nature and their simple elements among the creation, these subjects are my searches for the infinity without boundary. True beauty can only be discovered by ones who see the macro/ micro, subjective/ objective, art/ science, yin/ yang, east/ west,… and to have completed the incomplete. These contrasting properties strengthen my inner freedom to envision many imaginary spaces, their flexible elasticity, their infinite extension and permanency as implied by '0'.

'0' is my pursuit, a response to life's spirit essence or my Asian's taste of revelation in life. '0' has cleansed, filtered, distilled, accumulated and recorded every bit of my life experience to create an '0-energy' realm on canvas. The energy stored within '0' sphere is a condensed substance field to transform the complex to the common simple, the human physical to the divine and mystical. These imply a perpetuating force to continue along the ever changing universe.

Multiplying '0s' connected the fragmented visual points in the environment by giving birth to the organisms within the revolving circles of earth. Every object in life rotates around a full cycle of birth, beginning, crack, mutation, merge, death, end, rebirth as depicted in my '0' series. The revitalizing energy helped me tremendously to inject life into my arduous art making process. From these '0s', I have found my loss to replenish my future consistently. These joining power has energized my consciousness to express their fluidness and richness among the passage of time.

The spiraling '0s' reinforced my realization of the interrelated succession of the ecosystem. These '0s' refreshed myself with a 'beginner's heart' in the daily endeavors of mine. They always offered me a space or realm with progress to do a house cleaning of my mind to free my self-centered soul to reconnect with and resume an original spirit. When I little think of achievement or think of self, I've become a true beginner to really learn something. A beginner's heart often owns a gentle spirit of compassion. When my heart is compassionate, I then notice that I can start to re-examine the trueness of life and learn from life.

As an artist, I pray sincerely that my artworks may interact with viewers to initiate more caring heart for making the world a better place together where we all live with greater compassion.

For me, '0' is Zen, an awakening, a realization, a compassion surpassing the form or format. They recorded many traces I've treaded upon in life to seek the spirit within the living organisms via the language of their own to represent their portraits of nature.

'0' is Tao, it is in my passage rather than my path. As I looked into the spirit of cosmic change- I tried to register the eternal growth which returns to itself to produce new forms in harmony, in pureness and in oneness.

“0”的轨迹

“0”成为我艺术表现上的一个焦点是因为它超越了我们通常认为的形状和意义,进入了一种即简单又复杂的深层精神领域。 像是一条河流,“0”形象沿着我的思维途径,展现给我一个无限的想象空间。

“0”作为一个自然界中最为基础的形状,遍及于我们生活各个层面的内部与外部,以最为极限的体量单位支配着万物;“0”也像是一把打开对自然界认识的钥匙,以一种引导性的力量,提供给我一个切入点。

在事物的内在因素中,无论阴/阳,虚/实,混乱与规律之中,都隐涵着一种极为真实的精神性。“0”提示给我的是一种巨大的可能意识,使我可以进入一个有意义的形态,挑战我对生存与真实的理解能力。

“0”是一种催化剂,令我对事物表面的认识与幻觉上升并运作为我内在的观念与精神,把真正的自我裸露于我的作品之中。

“0”容涵了时间与空间。是一个无限的依赖于精神的再现。

创作材料的选择也是一种非常重要的艺术表达方式。我使用沙---天然的岩彩是因为沙的自然属性使我感到熟悉,随手可以触及但又随时可以忽略它的存在。这种单纯的材质使用使我更容易放弃不必要的细节描述,保持相对纯粹的效果去更准确地把握作品的内涵。

创作的本质是关念的表达, 无论我们使用何种材料与表现方式,其拓展空间是存在的。只有在不局限于一种固有概念的约束下,思维与表达的自由才能实现。

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