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EDEN OF EAST
#010A twelve-piece illustration series using the baimiao line method of Chinese ink painting crossed with geometric structure, on the state of traditional culture in the present day.
- Année
- 2021–2022
- date
- 2021.09 – 2022.02
- dimension
- 20cm × 20cm
- media
- comprehensive material · Chinese ink · watercolour
- tools
- Procreate · Photoshop
I’ve lived in China for 22 years since it is my homeland. Although these two decades seem to be safe and sound, there are plenty of doubts that come up in my mind. I frequently take trips to different sorts of metropolis in China, while sometimes I travel to undeveloped areas. Skyscrapers, various shops, and luxury cars show a prosperous view that is totally opposite to shabby buildings, muddy paths, and inconvenient transportation in most small cities and countrysides. All of the scenes illustrate a huge gap that we can’t ignore.
Being through these things, I decided to explore the sense of contradiction and avulsion.
A — SKETCHES
I talked to people of different ages and trades, and their answers shocked me. Some truths in this region have been neglected for a long time; accepting the scars is painful, but facing them matters more.
Part of the inspiration is Fei Xiaotong’s From the Soil, on the structure of local society and the order of human relationships in traditional China.
B — MATERIAL EXPERIMENT
Made with black ink, golden dust and handmade paper. In the watercolour work I tried traditional techniques — salt scattering, foam texture, different brush movements — looking for what an ordinary medium can still do.
C — PHOTOGRAPHY
Taken on a trip to Inner Mongolia, where the lifestyle and the landscape stay closer to tradition. Vast land, harsh wind, rough texture.
D — FINAL OUTPUT
Twelve main pieces and several supporting graphics. Each one is a state of traditional Chinese culture as it stands now, seen from where I stand. The work holds to structure and cultural element rather than stating meaning, and leaves the reading to you.
Modelling uses baimiao, the fine-line method from ink painting, but drops the xieyi freehand style for geometric form. Drawn in Procreate with textures sampled from traditional crafts, colour finalised in Photoshop.
E — TEST BOARD 06
Bound the traditional Chinese way, cotton thread through every page. The proportions are a square, which gives the object more form and more decoration.
