If you have witnessed the blooming/ and withering of a flower/ you will understand/ the generosity/ and ruthlessness of lifeIf you have ever followed an ant, you will know that your companions are more important than the destination. If you bite a tomato/turn from green to red/you will understand/spring exists Like a /special day/ is because the word / love/ exists
From: Curator/Shen Qilan
As one of the two first exhibitions of the first “S” Art Season of Chengdu Art Museum , on April 8, “All Things Meet: JUJUWANG Solo Exhibition” curated by Dr. Shen Qilan was held at B4/B5/, Area B, Chengdu Art Museum The B6 exhibition hall opens.
Thanks to the guidance of curators and artists, we officially embarked on this spring journey in the city with “nature” and “love” as the key words.
·”Invasion” JUJUWANG Picture/Photo by Zhang Jian
The day before the official opening of the exhibition, we came to the exhibition site, which was still undergoing “land reclamation and cleaning”, and prepared to wait for the opportunity to “encounter” the artists and curators.
Since the venue has not officially opened yet, we entered the exhibition hall through the work passage. The door had just been opened halfway when snowflakes with a diameter of 10 meters “intruded” into our field of vision. In the 13-meter-high exhibition hall, viewers appear even smaller.
·”Us” JUJUWANG Picture/Photo by Zhang Jian
Urged by curiosity, we quickly walked through the three exhibition halls of this exhibition. During this process, we were sometimes in a tropical forest, stopping to watch the clouds made of Dai paper; sometimes we were “floating” in the darkness with a glimmer of light and a wire boat; sometimes we were surrounded by 99 canvas bags falling from the sky. In addition to the excitement around…, we learned that many of the works in this exhibition are new.
While we were still sorting out our emotions, the artists and curators who had just finished lunch returned to the scene. Maybe it’s because the lunch break has long passed, or maybe it’s their obsession with Chengdu food; in short, we were particularly impressed by the sweet water noodles they had for lunch.
“I suggest everyone to trust their own skin. When you are moved in your heart, your skin will feel an emotion.”
growing nature
“JUJUWANG was summoned by the nature she lives in to create the works in this exhibition. She calls everyone at the same time to feel and breathe – nature and love, while thinking about the meaning of life. In nature and love, we Connected to all things in wonderful ways.”
Following this context, the exhibition is divided into three chapters: there are plants and trees in the world, creation is meaning, and everything meets each other .
In an interview, Shen Qilan reminded us that we might as well view the exhibition according to the idea of ”seeing ourselves – seeing the world – seeing all living beings”. The selection of works in the entire exhibition is related to the spring season and the image of recovery it displays. “Hope can bring hope and an unyielding spirit.”
The works in the first chapter, “Growing Carpets” and “Growing Tomatoes,” are more “tributes” to nature.
“When we feel and accept the wisdom of the earth, we will dissolve our own insignificance. The wisdom of nature is that it never pursues immortality. Growth and withering are the cycles of life.”
·”Carpet Planting” Photo by JUJUWANG/Photo by Zhang Jian
In other words, on the one hand, we happily accept the gifts of nature; on the other hand, we try to do our best to return the elements from nature to nature.
For example, in the work “Growing Carpet”, the seeds sown in the soil are waiting to germinate. What was projected in the projector on the side was another carpet. According to JUJUWANG, this is a carpet that is actually planted on the ground. “I am looking forward to it turning into the garden of my imagination in a few months.”
·”Carpet Planting” JUJUWANG Photo/Official Weibo of Chengdu Art Museum
As for “Growing Tomatoes”, it further implies the thinking that “nature is the greatest luxury”. The English name of the work is “The Most Expensive Tomatoes”.
“You can’t find tomatoes like this in the entire city, but after we left the city, we bought them at a very cheap price,” JUJUWANG said. “The tomatoes are grown in the art gallery, together with so many expensive works of art. It will have a contrast.”
At the same time, the curator also hopes that “Growing Tomatoes” can convey the interpretation of “everyone is an artist”. “Tomato is a delicious, juicy and nutritious fruit. Art is such a concern. Everyone can get it and eat it.” Shen Qilan told us.
·”Growing Tomatoes” JUJUWANG Photo/Photo by Zhang Jian
man to the world
“I declare that this is the most worth-seeing exhibition in Chengdu in the first half of the year.” “Chengdu Art Museum makes me believe once again that no one in Chengdu has to go to work.” “The most worth-seeing romantic exhibition in spring is here.” This is the “tap water” from netizens watching the exhibition on social platforms.
If the works in the first chapter are still growing in nature and require some patience, then the second chapter directly shows the artist’s thinking about people themselves, especially the relationship between people and the world. “Nature” here may be more abstract.
“Us” is undoubtedly one of the most eye-catching works in the second chapter and the most attractive to the audience’s mobile phone cameras. On social media, snowflakes and later canvas bag elements are undoubtedly the “C position” of this exhibition.
·Picture/Xiaohongshu@guxigua
What deserves attention is the row of ants on the giant snowflake in “Us”.
Ants as individuals appear insignificant on the giant snowflakes. As a point among the vast stars, when faced with the question “Will the earth take us seriously?”, the artist’s answer lies in the posture of ants marching forward in a row. Here, the significance of the process is revealed.
At the same time, ” in this vast world, individual actions are like the steps of ants when the snow is falling.” Like ants, we have learned to grow and accompany each other.
·”Us” JUJUWANG Picture/Photo by Zhang Jian
Also belonging to the same exhibition hall as “Us” are “Cloud House”, “Invasion” and “If”.
The artist reminds us that “Cloud House” and “Invasion” can be seen as two opposite sides. The former represents positive thoughts, while the latter represents the opposite.
The pure Dai paper brings our thoughts to the sky of Xishuangbanna, where a ray of light is enough to form a direction, and a cloud is a poem; the audience can pull the vertical line of “Cloud House”, or “float” along with it, or watch the white scenery quietly. The changes in the projection on the wall are like elusive thoughts.
·”Cloud House” JUJUWANG Picture/Photo by Zhang Jian
The rapid development of human beings is accompanied by the invasion of nature. The moss “parasitic” on the pearl necklace contains different thoughts…
·”Invasion” JUJUWANG Picture/Photo by Zhang Jian
·”Invasion” JUJUWANG Photo/Official Weibo of Chengdu Art Museum
Boats carry people’s spirit and will, as well as hopes and yearnings. Under the dim light, the dark ground is like the water. Sitting on the “dream boat” woven with steel wire, “we sail away to discover unknown lands, to enjoy the sunset on the sea, and to catch the food on our table.”
·”If” JUJUWANG Picture/Photo by Zhang Jian
In the artist’s view, steel and wire are a pair of contradictions. “Steel wire is a material that I particularly like to use. Steel and wire are antonyms. For steel, steel wire may not be hard enough; for wire, steel wire is not strong enough.” soft.”
·”If” JUJUWANG Picture/Photo by Zhang Jian
Every day is a “special day”
“This exhibition is the artist’s answer to the philosophical discussion of ‘being in the world’ (In-der-Welt-Sein).” – Curator Shen Qilan
“You and I are both stars” is a phrase the artist mentions from time to time in interviews. The works in the entire exhibition – regardless of the size of the works or the selection of materials – all reflect the artist’s thinking and response to the human condition.
“Special Day” is the largest work in this exhibition, with a size of 20000x20000x12000mm. This work, as a project, began on the artist’s 10th wedding anniversary, which is September 9, 2021. The canvas bag records the date, weather, and city of each subsequent day, and the items placed in the bag also reflect the artist’s daily life.
·”Special Day” JUJUWANG Picture/Photo by Zhang Jian
“After this project, I will deliberately pay attention to the meaning of every day.” JUJUWANG told me, “I hope that through this project, everyone can pay attention to the little things in life.”
And this is also a co-created project. In February this year, the project solicited photos from the audience on the WeChat official account of the “Chengdu Art Museum”. This time it will be exhibited through projection.
·Projection of the scene/ photo by Zhang Jian
“On a ‘special day’, time goes back, allowing people to stop and gaze at the life moments that form themselves – ‘I’ and ‘me’, meet again. How people exist in the world and how they obtain meaning is what artists strive for. question. She created such a time and space to meet you and answer it together.” the curator wrote.
·”Special Day” JUJUWANG Picture/Photo by Zhang Jian
Hidden behind “Special Day” is “Wangderland”, a record of the artist’s dialogue with nature. If the audience pays enough attention, they can find many clues related to this exhibition.
·”Wangderland” JUJUWANG Picture/Photo by Zhang Jian
At the end of the exhibition, the curator did not choose to comment, but ended with an original poem “The word love exists”.
After a journey through the gifts of nature, the vastness of the universe and human existence, we finally return to love.
·”The word love exists” picture/photo by Zhang Jian
