Wu Qiong featured on Art China

By Ode To Art

Here and Now – Wu Qiong Solo Exhibition

Wu Qiong’s Solo Exhibition – Here and Now” will open on 8 November 2015 at Ode to Art gallery in Singapore. Part of the “post-80s” generation, Wu Qiong was born in Beijing and studied at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in Singapore after graduating from Beijing Normal University. After being represented by Singapore galleries, his work was well received by the masses and piqued their interest. The paintings of Wu Qiong have undergone different periods of discovery and exploration, and in recent years he began using the visual language of pop culture to plumb the depths of his inner emotions. The main subjects of his paintings began to assume a “childlike” stance, stemming from recollections of his childhood. He is willing to immerse himself in the beautiful dreamscapes of his youth, searching for emotions and reiterating his purest memories. His upcoming solo exhibition in Singapore will be a showcase of his sculptures, supported by his paintings and the recent art series that have sprung forth. Through the simple and calming images, the exhibition will attempt to trigger the reflections that viewers have towards daily life. The hope is that the works will engage audiences in a dialogue and lead to ideals or messages that resonate with them.

在这里（13）－永远, Always and Forever, 2015, oil on canvas, 150 x 120cm

Wu Qiong was born in Beijing. Divergent from the ‘post-60s’ and ‘post-70s’ generation, the children of the ‘post-80s’ generation experienced sweeter and more comforting childhood years. They were the generation that engaged in traditional games to a large extent, growing up in the era after Deng Xiaoping enacted policies and reforms that opened China to the outside world in 1978. Due to his parents being engaged in advertising and design work, Wu Qiong – who was an only child – was influenced by art from a young age. He began learning Chinese ink and wash painting at the age of eight. In 1994, he was accepted into the prestigious Xu Beihong Arts Institute - which is now known as the School of Arts, Renmin University of China – where he was trained in Western fine art. In 1998, he entered Beijing Normal University where he majored in oil painting. In 2003, he left for Singapore to enroll in the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts – realizing his desire to go abroad to further his studies. In the process, he was centered upon his wish of fully experiencing the culture of a foreign country. It was precisely this sort of intercultural education background, where he familiarized himself with a country far from his home, which allowed him to discover himself once more and deeply ponder his own artistic journey.

在这里（8）－梦幻，In the Clouds of our Dreams, 2015, oil on canvas, 120 x 150 cm

Wu Qiong’s early work (2003 – 2006) belong to an exploratory stage of art, presenting a portrait of his different states of mind at that point in his life. Chinese painter Mao Yan (born in 1968) influenced his artistic style to a large degree. Wu Qiong’s graduation show titled “Showcasing the Inner Worlds of Humans,” portrayed the different mental states of people through oil paintings that mimicked watercolors, which were rendered in calm and unhurried brushstrokes. He references his feelings at the time to present the failures of artists, a sense of unease coupled with a hesitation towards life. In his artwork titled Crying and Screaming, the character spirals downward into hysterics and crawls along the pavements of darkened streets. The ray of light that illuminates him from above - casting light on his gaping mouth, eyes pressed tightly shut – is particularly arresting. His left hand is raised and drawn into the shape of a gun about to be fired, while convoluted and twisted facial muscles depict him in the throes of tears and laughter. Against a vivid backdrop of blue, the canvas effectively conveys the foiled aspirations and desperation of mankind as well as an overwhelming sense of helplessness.

在这里（14）－幻象，It is Simply an Illusion, 2015, oil on canvas, 102 x 80 cm

At the end of 2006, Wu Qiong’s artistic style evolved significantly, transitioning from his self-deprecatory, dark and gloomy foundations riddled with black humor to an exploration of the unique emblems and symbols that characterized the Chinese nation. His Made in China series symbolized a maturing of Wu Qiong’s work compared to his earlier creations. A desolate landscape gives rise to a group of adorable children whose faces bear expressions of nonchalance and obsession, once again referencing the hesitation that people possess towards life. Through the process of deciphering Wu Qiong’s work, he used the portrayal of a group of children who are underdeveloped and at times carry dolls in patches of clothes, to convey the message of “Made in China 2.” In the left corner of the canvas, a young boy is in the process of yawning. His head is large and his body is positioned towards the rear. Both eyes are closed and he seems to be in a posture of sleep and caught up in a dream. His little mouth is opened wide and full of admiration and reverence. Clothed fully in Manchu apparel, this could be a reference to the painter’s own Manchu heritage. In the artist’s 2007 narrative series titled Born After the 80s, one can identify familiar motifs that were present in the Made in China series of works, such as the silhouettes of big-headed dolls which are bestowed with new meaning. In these works, Wu Qiong cements the current four themes of his artistic portraits. There is a concerted effort to portray children in the midst of clouds, carefree and ignorant children, mischievous children and boys and girls together. The cryptic and ambiguous faces of the works in his Made in China series, begin to be clearly imbued with vitality.

在这里（6）－武侠浮云, Divine Warrior, 2015, oil on canvas, 110 x 150 cm

In his Born After the 80s series of works, Wu Qiong utilizes new methods of portrayal, placing the main character at the forefront of the painting with the echoes of a group of repeated faces in the background. Taking a work such as Pulling on a Spinning Top for example, the child that is spinning tops with the other children has an expression of reverence on his face. In the piece Big Symphony, the leader of the band of singing boys is also portrayed in this method. At the same time, through the attention to detail, Wu Qiong also uses the composition to achieve startling results. With reference to the piece Playing with Marbles, a few strands of hair prevent the children from being completely bald.

在这里，Here and Now, 2015, print, 70 x 57 cm

The use and portrayal of child-like images in contemporary Chinese art is not an unfamiliar sight. Take, for example, the work of painter Yu Chen (born in 1963) and his Red Children creations. They don clothes that belong to the era of Mao Zedong, with a myriad of expressions. There is also Tang Zhi Gang (born in 1959) who portrays children in his artwork Meeting of the Children. Yu Chen chose to make children the main focus of her paintings due to the notion that as an adult, she could not effectively enter into an exchange with her thoughts. As such, she held the hope that all people of the world would continue to remain as children. A demobilized soldier, Tang Zhi Gang chose children as a focal point to escape the themes that contemporary art tended to pursue relentlessly – it served as a critique of the absurdity of living under the political system, thus injecting a sense of humor into his work.

With regards to Wu Qiong, “children” represent the carefree and innocent memories that he has of his early years. The children are entrusted with these reflections, they are fully immersed in a cacophony of noise and amusement from a bevy of traditional toys and games; they can also wander unrestrained in the realms of their fantasies. If, on a certain morning, Wu Qiong awakes and the era of his childhood and all that has transpired is forgotten and condemned to the corners of his mind as pure delusion; he will be able to be refreshed once again. Leaping from skyscrapers and fleeing from danger are themes that manifest in Wu Qiong’s latest works titled Ensconced in Clouds and Flying. In these pieces, little heroes are released from the bind of gravity and float peacefully amidst clouds and an azure blue sky. In the vein of emotion that is evoked by the poetic line, “the moon reflects the light of home,” so too does the work of Wu Qiong lament, “the sky reflects the blue of childhood.”

Tan Hwee Koon is an art advisor, publisher and writer based in Singapore.

The original article in Mandarin is available here.