BMW China Culture Journey
2015 BMW China Culture Journey Departure Ceremony in Xi’ an
In 2015 and 2016, I was invited to participate in the BMW China Cultural Tour project for two consecutive years. With the BMW team, we crossed the Qinling Mountains and delved into Sichuan to investigate over 20 national and provincial-level intangible cultural heritage projects. After the trip, based on my research on the Yang family's wooden beam scales, the Cangjie bird script, and the Jiajiang bamboo weaving intangible cultural heritage projects, I created the installation works "Between Heaven and Earth," the curved screen "River," and the abstract sculpture "Infinite Expansion Body." These works were exhibited at the BMW Brilliance Tiexi Plant in Shenyang in 2016.
"Between Heaven and Earth" uses the symbol of fairness, the wooden beam scale, as the basic element of the installation. By finding the balance point, a group of wooden beam scales hanging from the installation can be leveled to form an artistic installation. The Yang family in Qinzhen, Shaanxi, has been making wooden beam scales for four generations as their livelihood. They have made a total of 12 types of scales and weights according to national standards, ranging from the largest, which can weigh up to 200 kilograms, to the smallest, which can weigh just a few grams. This installation balances one scale with another, with the larger scales weighing the middle scales, and the middle scales weighing the smaller ones. Each beam is calibrated by a weight to find the level measurement position. This form expresses the traditional Chinese concept of fairness and justice, as reflected in the work's name, "Between Heaven and Earth" - a folk saying that "there is a scale between heaven and earth," which is an invisible scale that maintains social justice and upholds the conscience of justice.
The inspiration for my work "River" came when I visited the Cangjie Temple in Baishui County, Weinan City, Shanxi Province. Cangjie is revered as the saint of the Cangjie system of writing, as he is the creator of Chinese characters. This system of writing has a long history, contributing to the uninterrupted culture of this nation for five thousand years. I extracted the 28 most ancient Chinese characters according to research from the 28 original symbols that are said to have been created by Cangjie. These bird script characters and their evolved forms, such as Jinwen, Xiaozhuan, Lishu, Kaishu, and Xingcao, are engraved on a curved screen with river decorations. This river decoration tells the abbreviated history of Chinese characters.
"Infinite Continuous" is my creation after researching the local bamboo weaving and bamboo paper intangible cultural heritage projects in Jiajiang county, Sichuan province. This work directly uses bamboo weaving materials and techniques to create. From a creator's perspective, there is no difference between a sculpture and a bamboo weaving artifact. If there must be a difference, it is that one produces useless objects, while the other produces useful tools. However, both require the use and development of the characteristics of the bamboo strips. With the extraordinary flexibility and lightness of the bamboo strips, I created an abstract form full of complex curved surface changes, which I named "Infinite Continuous" I believe that even the most traditional crafts and materials can have infinite expansion and continuity in the current era and the future, as long as we can break through fixed thinking frameworks and build on the foundation laid by our predecessors.
