I have not been put into writing for such a long time that I do not even know what to write now except talking over my daily life.
So-called painting to me is no more than elegant and unrestrained brushes and strokes of which the pursuit is not the accurate representation of appearance but the pleasure of my own self. My life is all about to make sulputures and play on my own, during the playing the creations I want,whom I deem as the records of my life, will come to my mind by themselves. No matter how other people comments them, sulptures did record all the things which have touched my heart and every small daily happening of my life.
The Old Mister said that good arts come from playing. Also I am playing, with two mates: Dumi and Mew Mew. When Mew Mew was two years old and leading a lonely and boring life in my studio, Dumi came on the scene. At first they sat oppositely and starie at each other, one is vigilant but the other is very enthusiastic, finally Dumi got beaten up very badly. Sorry, you invaded the territory of a cat. However, now they are eating, playing, and sometimes playing together, taking each other as family. Although I used to keeping a distance from things that change very frequently, I cannot deny that Dumi and Mew Mew have led me to make more friends and enriched my life, which makes me really happy. I like them and feel pleased to observe them, accordingly I gradually recorded their daily activities. When doing these I was in freedom, there is nothing but pleasrure, no theory, no one told me or reqeusted to me do anything, which has strenghtened my love to the works of mine. And I think I would insist on making sculptures for them even if someone said something, because they are really special to me.
I like other animals as well, I’ve been curious about animals such as horse, rhinoceros and giraffe since I was a child. My graduate work was a giraffe, I always think that everything from figure to temperament of giraffes is so pleasant to eyes and heart. I still remember when I was on summer vocation of the primary school I have went to a zoo, there was a giraffe which I had ever seen nowhere but on TV and in comic books, but I never supposed that th3 meeting could be horrible experience. On my father’s shoulders I try to feed the giraffe with tree leaves, but when the animal was leaning over me, I for the first time realized how huge it is, my breath was took away but my tears were almost around. However, thanks to my fear, I was so stongly impressed by the giraffe and got the very special experience. Now I want to keep the impression detained, also when I make other works, the creating are all motivated by my desire of expressing my direct feelings with interest as the breakthrough point.
During years of work I gradually realized that good artworks could only be created by deeply and finely feeling artists with active interests, moreover the interest and feeling are not as simple as their literal meanings, the core value of a work which is supposed to touch the audience should come from the feeling and temperament of the artist.
I do not taking the process of becoming more and more compatible as growing up,oppositely, I think growing is a sort of clearnace that you learn what is important to you and what you like, at the same time you find what is unimportant to you and what you hate, then you become a man of simplicity and purity.
When tomorrow became today and today became yesterday, I suddenly find that I am senseless moving on under the drive of time. Now Mew Mew is four years old and Dumi is two, we are not on a still train where we get the illusion of moving on when another train passes by in the opppsite direction, we are growing and refreshed in real life. And that is why I always want to grasp the beautiful scenes of imagination which is so transient that I have to retain them by absolute-unhesitatingly touching them using my fingertips.
Now I am writing, Mew Mew is scratching the sofa and Dumi is chewing my coat, and I have no idea to deal with them, so be it, this is my life.Thank the two special friends in my life, I feel honored to grow up together with you.
I am so happy.
Written by Li Xinyu on September 30 in Heiqiao