In view of 易变░ 耦态°∶Nёメㄒ 乚ěVéし, Zhong Wei's first solo exhibition with de Sarthe, gallery director Willem Molesworth interviewed the artist regarding his artistic intentions and creative process.
Willem:
I remember you telling me an interesting story yesterday about growing up in Beijing with your home located between Wangfujing, one of the most famous modern shopping street of Beijing, and the Forbidden City, the former Chinese Imperial Palace. Do you think this is reflected in your work?
Zhong Wei:
Definitely. I have been searching for a place that is representative of the current cultural standpoint of China, and the fact that I was born and raised in Wangfujing is very interesting to me. On one side of it is the ancient past, and on the other is the developing present. As an artist, my research has been focused on how contemporary visual language can accommodate both the past and present. I think I have achieved so in my paintings through a specific visual language of my own, a method of integrating mixed messages. By developing a rule that coordinates the past, present, and future, the aforementioned issue is resolved.
W:
I find it intriguing that viewers would often only see trending Internet icons, symbols, and forms in your work without getting an impression of the old. Which parts of your work are influenced by tradition?
Z:
In the past, I would have tried conveying the present through old ways, but I found out later that I was wrong. The ancient past corresponded to agricultural civilization, yet we are living in the Information Age. Standing from this perspective, there is no clear past or present here, what you face in this moment is a state of now that involves all points in time and everything else. My paintings portray the feelings inflicted by this very moment. They may contain traces of ancient symbols, perhaps in the same ratio of the marks left in my mind, yet they are not dominating nor are they a decisive element in my artworks. This also means that neither the Forbidden City nor Wangfujing are the dominating subjects of my work. Information Culture is the real coordinator of these landmarks.
W:
This seems to bring us to a significant part of your work. Information Culture, like mobile phones, computers and other multimedia channels, feeds us an infinite amount of information. In your work, the sense of old and new are blended together which forms this idea of “coupling”. Do you mind elaborating on this idea?
Z:
“Coupling” is a neutral vocabulary taken from one of my favorite philosophy books called Wu Yan Tong Lun, by Chinese Philosopher Wang Dong Yue. “Coupling”, for me, means the sense of an artist, especially the unique sense from one that has received training on modern art. This sense combines the artist’s individuality with their accumulated training into modern artistic syntax. It shapes our perceptive system, and the subject we then “couple” is the life we face. “Coupling” is like dating or like a couple, you search for partners that emotionally trigger you, partners who send out and take in their loving information. Therefore, you can find different styles in my collection of works, there is no fixed language or symbols and it is not repetitive. I am simply using “coupling” to coordinate all the daily information that I take in but cannot categorize, for it is impossible to do so using a personal language in the face of something so monstrous.
“Coupling” unfolds the past, present and everything onto one surface. Therefore, the creative process for each piece is open and arbitrary. It is not fixed and is definitely not repetitive. I would say that repetition is a form of the past, which doesn’t exist in the present.
W:
This exhibition features a section of paintings and a section of installation. Is this pairing also a type of “coupling” or do you have other thoughts?
Z:
I believe you can say so. “Coupling”, as a process, does not necessarily have to be one-on-one. It could be a combination of multiple layers, or even a combination of structures. For example, when operating a computer, you plug in the socket for more that a mere single cell of electricity, but a mass voltage, which indicates the connection of two systems. The same goes for the transfer of information, which is never a single channel transmission but rather a multi-level, multi-agent interaction. This is the reason why modern artists are open to multifaceted practices. They often deliver ideas through a whole system instead of a single level connection because the latter cannot fully capture the essence of life, for life is complex and profound.
Trying to limit expression to one dimension is unnatural because our perception is multi-dimensional. Therefore, it is natural to put paintings, installation, and sound together, because both visuals and audio are things that already co-exist.
W:
I asked this question because the forms of expression in these sections are very different, yet they seem to be conversing. Upon entering this room, it was dark and a bit messy. However, as I walked further into the gallery, the space became bright and clean, and the works were especially meaningful.
Z:
I think it represents the two sides of things, like day and night, contradictory but nonetheless dictated by the same thing. Both painting and installation are by-products of the same system; they are simply different in appearance and therefore affect the way they are perceived. I think contradiction may actually be a characteristic of the system itself, similar to how we possess both male and female hormones. Opposition in itself is actually a way of communication - although conflict may arise, a system underlies it.
W:
It is the duality of things.
Z:
Like the front and back of the same coin
W:
Eyes seem to be a recurring motif in your paintings. Can you explain your particular attraction to them?
Z:
Firstly, I discovered that eyes have a magical effect. When you add eyes onto any two-dimensional surface, that surface immediately comes to life. For this reason, inserting eyes into a composition has become a go-to technique for me. Secondly, I used to be very invested in a concept known as the “eye of the painting” in Chinese painting, which refers to the focal point of a composition. I later realized that eyes make a great “eye of the painting”.
W:
Could you also explain the use of long lines in your artworks?
Z:
Line is a very important concept as my works are composed using computer software. There was this issue that I had been contemplating: I have experimented extensively with oil painting, Chinese painting and other traditional mediums, yet regardless of which one I use or how I use it, the resulting works always felt outdated. At best they were good paintings, but not contemporary paintings. The reason so was that the tools I used, like pencils and brushes, were of the past. On the contrary, the computer, as a tool, has its unique quality, a quality that is symbolic of human development. I believe that the essence of this quality is in the texture of its lines, and so I portray this texture in my paintings.
W:
That is very interesting.
Z:
My works can actually be understood quite easily. Although they all look very different, they are all referencing the information environment. Let me give you an example: Ancient Chinese artists painted mountains and streams, and Western artists illustrated landscapes with oil paint, both chose their subject based on what surrounded them. Ancient Chinese artists unified the ways they depicted trees, mountains, and water, and used these methods to express their emotions inflicted by the very landscape they are painting. My paintings are the same – I have merely changed the background. I think this is one of the more important characteristics of my work, which I believe is also natural.
W:
Just like reflection.
Z:
Yes, projection. I believe that the best art proves the existence of humankind by recording traces of humanity. An artist is like transparent glass or a sieve; information passes through us, but is refracted or filtered in the process. When the original message is morphed into a new form, it is no longer the original. Instead, it becomes a new image, a new mark, and that is what I consider art. Humans are only atoms situated amidst infinite space-time, and if we wish to find a creation, a documentary that describes a specific time, we can simply reference the iconic art of that era. Art only belongs to humans, all art is manmade, and therefore the fundamental purpose of art is to record human existence. This is my first and ultimate intention in creating art - to fully document the space-time environment in which I exist.
Yes, projection. An artist acts as a transparent glass, or a sieve, and all the information can pass through and get to you. Once the information has been passed on, it forms into new images and traces, which I regard as art. The best art occurs when this transition process is well expressed. After all, human are only atoms and when we have created countless spatio-temporal slices, we want something to record this state and relationship, and we often achieve that with the help of iconic artworks of the era. Human created art and the fundamental use of art is to record human existence, therefore my first and ultimate direction with art is to record the space that I am surrounded in.