Interview|JUJUWANG: Meeting all things in the universe, feeling the love between man, nature and love

From Chengdu Art Museum / Published on 04/28/2023

Photography: Zhang Jian

Q

What All Things Meet embodies is nature and love. How do you view people, nature and love?

 JUJUWANG:

A star exploded billions of years ago, followed by the birth of the universe and time, the formation of the earth and other planets, the gestation of life, and finally us. So we already existed hundreds of millions of years ago. When you hear this, you may feel particularly calm and humble, because we all come from the same place, formed and existed billions of years ago, and billions of years ago Then meet again in another form.

So we are not a single entity. The environment we grew up in, the people and things we come into contact with, and even the conversations we have today…many tiny elements are like particles of dust that make up our existence. When I was very young, I decided that I must have real relationships with the world . These relationships will become a part of me. For example, our current conversations will also form who I am in the next second. I think that’s my relationship with nature.

Photography: Zhang Jian

All things meet each other, that is, as a part of nature, we come from nature, and we will eventually return to nature and continue to exist and meet each other in another form.

The topic of death is taboo in our culture because it means the end. But if we could become anyone, do anything, and have unlimited time, such a life would be meaningless. The meaning of my life is to help myself and others!

Photography: Zhang Jian

You have brought many new creations to this exhibition. Do these creations have any connection with your experience in Chongming Island?

 JUJUWANG: 

As an undeveloped island, Chongming Island has unique vitality, which has a great impact on me. The process of building your own house, cleaning it, and growing your own vegetables on Chongming Island is actually a meditative process that cannot be experienced in the city. All kinds of tiny information in the city will interfere with you and prevent you from being immersed in a simple thing. This is why the monk with the highest martial arts skills in the temple is always the sweeper: his process of sweeping the floor is his process of meditation and his return to himself. I found this feeling on Chongming Island.

Photography: Zhang Jian

Secondly, there is another thing that I like very much about Chongming Island, that is, its openness. This is also something you cannot see in the city. In such a particularly open place with no traces of humanity, you can feel the calmness, humility, and insignificance of people, like a speck of dust in the universe… I also reveal it in my works With such a breath.

I was deeply impressed by the nameless weeds growing in the wind on the roadside of Chongming Island: ordinary reeds are about one or two meters high, but the reeds on Chongming Island are five or six meters high, wanton and free . In the city, we walk from one exquisite cage to another without feeling the changes of the seasons. Chongming Island made me become a part of nature.

Installation art is a comprehensive display art of “space + material + emotion”. What emotions do the different materials in your works reflect?

 JUJUWANG: 

In my installation art, it is more about space, materials and perception . In my opinion, understanding is very important. All the works I brought to this exhibition are actually my insights on life. Understanding is especially important when we are looking for meaning in life.

Steel wire is a material I absolutely love working with. It is used in the work “Savage Growth” exhibited at Tianfu Art Museum and “If” brought to this exhibition. For steel, steel wire is not hard enough to build a house; for silk, it is not soft enough to weave a piece of clothing, but it is just like me, both flexible and strong, strong and indestructible, and flexible. Change.

Photography: Zhang Jian

In your works, there are many uses of light and shadow to highlight the environment. What effect does the use of light play on the audience and the space of the work?

 JUJUWANG: 

The indoor space can no longer hold me. I use light because I want to blur the corners and straight lines in the room. Such artificial traces are not natural. I want to create an outdoor environment more . My ambition can no longer fit into such a square house. At the same time, we also hope that the changing light will enable everyone to enmesh themselves in the environment when appreciating the work.

Photography: Zhang Jian

What do you think of “Art Heals Life”? Does installation art have spatial healing power?

 JUJUWANG: 

I think there is no doubt about this. Just like the Cloud House, although children don’t know the story or thoughts behind it when watching it, they will still be affected by the visual alone. I really appreciate what Mr. Mu Xin said: “Faith is a check, art is cash.” In art you can get immediate happiness, but the paycheck is not guaranteed. Therefore, everyone must have their own art to find the meaning of life.

Photography: Zhang Jian

Artist Profile·JUJUWANG

JUJUWANG, installation artist, graduated from University of California, Berkeley. Inspired by nature, poetry and Eastern philosophy, we explore the commonalities between art, nature and culture through the creation of large-scale art installations combined with modern materials.

JUJUWANG’s artistic practice and exploration of the meaning of life are intertwined with her life experiences. Her works have been exhibited in China, the United States, France, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, South Korea and other places, and are favored by many international first-line brands including ACQUA DI PARMA, AP, AUDI, CANADA GOOSE, DIOR, GIVENCHY, SWAROVSKI, TIFFANY, etc. Invited to carry out cross-border cooperation with brands. In 2019, she was awarded the “Swarovski Designer of the Future” award, one of the top three in the world; in 2020, she was listed in the 30 Young Artists of China’s Art Power List, and won the Robb Report “Young Artist of the Year” award. In 2019-2020, the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai awarded her the “Future Leader of the Year” and “Committee Chair of the Year” awards. In 2022, he will be listed among the 100 elite Chinese youth returnees in Forbes.

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