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Sculptors work in poetic Xixi Wetland
By Starry Wu |
December 4, 2012, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
THE 4th West Lake International Sculpture Exhibition features 51 works, including 11 by foreign artists, at the Xixi National Wetland Park through December 23.
To integrate art into public space, the wetland was chosen for the exhibition because it combines nature and culture. The area is crisscrossed with streams and filled with ponds, lakes and marshes. There's also a water village where silk production dates back 1,800 years.
The exhibition title is "Land Crossed by Water," which describes Xixi. All the sculptures were designed for the wetland setting.
The work titled "Memory of Waves" is made in the shape of waves, which can move in the wind. It was created by two lecturers of the China Academy of Art.
"Usually, outdoor sculptures stand still, while the surroundings, like vehicles and people, go back and forth," says Xu Ge, one of the co-creators. "Xixi is different, the whole environment is quiet and motionless so we want to create a work that is dynamic and contrasts with the peaceful setting."
Sculptors from Harvard University's Graduate School of Design filled several traditional fishing boats on the wetland with clay and planted grass on them, then put them in the shallow swamp. The heavy clay sank to the bottom, but visitors could walk around and play on the grassy surfaces.
"We celebrate people who built this place through daily care," says Alan Waxman, a Harvard student. "We tried to implant the stories of people that live here into the boats, and wanted to let the boats be like the communities and stories under the water."
Zeng Lingxiang's work "Scenery" uses an enormous tire of a treedozer from the Great Khingan Mountains of Heilongjiang Province and erected it in Xixi. He removed the inner tube, stuffed the tire with mud and drew a mini-landscape of pines on the mud.
"The tire symbolizes industrialization, while the pine represents nature. The whole work is a sharp contrast with the poetic environment of Xixi. The work is the human reflection of the modern world," Zheng says.
"The exhibition has become a top sculpture festival in China and young sculptors are the major of exhibitors. Moreover, technology is blended with the art and people can interact with the works," says Yang Qirui, a curator.
Date: Through December 23
Venue: East gate of Xixi National Wetland Park
To integrate art into public space, the wetland was chosen for the exhibition because it combines nature and culture. The area is crisscrossed with streams and filled with ponds, lakes and marshes. There's also a water village where silk production dates back 1,800 years.
The exhibition title is "Land Crossed by Water," which describes Xixi. All the sculptures were designed for the wetland setting.
The work titled "Memory of Waves" is made in the shape of waves, which can move in the wind. It was created by two lecturers of the China Academy of Art.
"Usually, outdoor sculptures stand still, while the surroundings, like vehicles and people, go back and forth," says Xu Ge, one of the co-creators. "Xixi is different, the whole environment is quiet and motionless so we want to create a work that is dynamic and contrasts with the peaceful setting."
Sculptors from Harvard University's Graduate School of Design filled several traditional fishing boats on the wetland with clay and planted grass on them, then put them in the shallow swamp. The heavy clay sank to the bottom, but visitors could walk around and play on the grassy surfaces.
"We celebrate people who built this place through daily care," says Alan Waxman, a Harvard student. "We tried to implant the stories of people that live here into the boats, and wanted to let the boats be like the communities and stories under the water."
Zeng Lingxiang's work "Scenery" uses an enormous tire of a treedozer from the Great Khingan Mountains of Heilongjiang Province and erected it in Xixi. He removed the inner tube, stuffed the tire with mud and drew a mini-landscape of pines on the mud.
"The tire symbolizes industrialization, while the pine represents nature. The whole work is a sharp contrast with the poetic environment of Xixi. The work is the human reflection of the modern world," Zheng says.
"The exhibition has become a top sculpture festival in China and young sculptors are the major of exhibitors. Moreover, technology is blended with the art and people can interact with the works," says Yang Qirui, a curator.
Date: Through December 23
Venue: East gate of Xixi National Wetland Park
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