Dunhuang Contemporary Art Museum is holding the "Jingxiang Dunhuang" exhibition from November 11, 2024, to May 31, 2025. This is the inaugural exhibition marking the official opening of the Dunhuang Contemporary Art Museum to the public.
The exhibition brings together works from 20 renowned contemporary artists: Cao Shu, Chen Zhihao, Ding Yi, Gao Shiqiang, Gu Fei, Hu Junjun, Lu Wen, Ni Youyu, Ouyang Lin, Peng Wei, Shao Wenhuan, Shi Zhiying, Shi Weixiang, Shi Dunyu, Sun Zhijun, Xie Xiaoze, Zhang Huan, Zheng Bo, Zhou Zhenru, Zou Yingzi (listed in alphabetical order by surname), aiming to explore the relationship between Dunhuang's ancient books, archives, cultural relics, and modern and contemporary art. It is worth mentioning that many pieces in the exhibition are the results of artists' on-site creations in Dunhuang.
In this feature, we invite two artists, Cao Shu and Shi Zhiying, to engage in an in-depth exchange, review their Dunhuang memories, and share their unique understanding of Dunhuang.
Dunhuang Impressions | "Jingxiang Dunhuang" Exhibition Artists Cao Shu and Shi Zhiying in Dialogue
Work | Dual Fish
The work originates from the author's long-term attention to family history, concerning a relative who once worked at the Lop Nur nuclear base in the northwest, and the associated secret memories. The film is based on real-life shooting of the Yadan landform and 3D digital simulation rendering. As the long shot progresses, a part of the ghostly narrative is slowly revealed. The empty land filled with a large amount of tabloid literature and speculative imagination is always interwoven with the mirror legend of the dual fish jade pendant, perhaps the details of the era's emotions are often hidden in tabloid literature and nursery rhymes...
Cao Shu
Currently teaches at the China Academy of Art. Cao Shu's creations mainly focus on narrative 3D digital images, electronic games, and site-specific installations. Based on specific local investigations and research, he closely weaves the complex production mechanisms and mythological metaphors behind computer graphics technology with historical archives and social issues. His recent series of creations revolve around the ghostly narrative related to collectivism in his personal family history. He has received awards such as the 2022 OCAT × KADIST Young Media Artist Award, the 2021 Shanghai Art Fair Exposure Award, and the 2017 BISFF Art Exploration Award, and was nominated for the inaugural E.A.T.PRIZE 2024. He has held solo exhibitions and personal projects at institutions such as the Shanghai HAO Art Museum, Imagination Laboratory, Munich Muffatwerk, Zhejiang Art Museum, and Yokohama Gold Town in Japan. His recent works have been exhibited at institutions such as the Basel Country Art Museum, Macao Museum of Art, Sydney White Rabbit Art Museum, Madrid Matadero Contemporary Art and Cultural Center, Hong Kong M+ Museum, UCCA Dune Art Museum, PSA Shanghai Contemporary Art Museum, Asia Society Hong Kong Center, Tianmu Li Art Museum, OCAT Shanghai, and New York Sleep Center. In recent years, the artist has participated in residencies at Atelier Mondial in Basel, Switzerland (2017), Yokohama Gold Town Bazaar in Japan (2019), and Munich Muffatwerk in Germany (2023).
Cao Shu: The extreme desolation of the Yadan no-man's-land actually forms a certain contrast with the bustling ancient culture of Dunhuang, allowing me to experience more about the complexity of historical strata.
Q: What is the theme of this Dunhuang investigation? How is it different from before?
A: This time, it mainly revolves around the "no-man's-land" that emerged due to historical reasons such as the Cold War, which is completely different from the previous approach of investigating Dunhuang murals and ancient sites. The focus this time is a clue related to nuclear issues, and I also try to connect it with my family history.
Q: Why has family history become your focus? Can you talk about the background?
A: Before 2016, my own works did not have much personal or family history-related content. At that time, I focused more on language issues, about whether the works could stand alone. Later, inspired by the exhibition "East of the Small Bridge" by Teacher Geng Jianyi, I found the complexity and necessity of exploring from a personal level. Language or media never exist in isolation. 3D digital technology and electronic games have special personal significance for me, or rather, the technology itself is tightly wrapped in personal experience. The recent works I have done are more or less related to the "nuclear" issue. This material, under certain circumstances, connects with the various aspects of life of my family members in the 20th century, occupying a certain void and also being a small microcosm of some grand issues. I am also very interested in this kind of creative approach, like getting lost in a foggy historical path. Of course, what I am more interested in is still the media issue, but it is not the media stripped of background issues, but a more "meta-media" issue, such as looking at photography or nuclear technology from a personal perspective.
Q: What were some special feelings or experiences during this investigation?
A: There were many physical feelings. I have been to Dunhuang before, but basically in the city area. This time, I went from Dunhuang through Yumen Pass to the deeper part of the Yadan landform. When approaching Lop Nur, at the border between Gansu and Xinjiang, the guide said that four self-driving tourists died here last year. The place where I stayed, there were no humans within several kilometers around, and I indeed experienced what it means to "not be able to see one's own fingers" in the middle of the night. When walking, I was very timid, strictly following the guide's advice to always keep the campsite within sight. The temperature of the sand during the day was very high, and even with sand shoe covers, it still felt extremely hot. When I stood in those dry and cracked no-man's-lands, I could deeply feel the living state of that relative who worked at the nuclear base at that time. There are some feelings that connect to memory through physical experience.
Q: What is the position of Dunhuang in your work? Has this investigation made you understand it better?
A: Dunhuang is a very important geographical node and historical space for me. But its cultural baggage is indeed a bit heavy, and I still need time to digest it. The place I investigated this time is around the historical city of Dunhuang, the no-man's-land that people needed to cross in history, and the lonely landform that has never been conquered. These areas form a certain contrast with the ancient culture of Dunhuang, and I have some new dimensions of thinking. This is also the direction I want to continue to explore recently, which is related to my own growth experience, the persistent Cold War history of the 20th century, and the hidden ghostly issues related to new technologies.
Work | Heavenly Musicians 3, Touch 1
Shi Zhiying prefers relief sculptures, which are between two-dimensional paintings and three-dimensional sculptures, both flat and volumetric. Shi Zhiying is very interested in this critical form between the two and tries to express it through painting. The critical state is a certain degree of chaos, uncertainty, and the starting point for the emergence of various possibilities. The depth and light and shadow effects naturally formed by the ups and downs of the relief are expressed as form and color in flat painting. This transformation between two and three dimensions is also a kind of distillation for Shi Zhiying, and it inspires her to find the relationship and rhythm between form and color. Between flat and volumetric, between figurative and abstract, between shape and color block, between certainty and uncertainty, Shi Zhiying constantly approaches the truth of art.
Shi Zhiying
Born in 1979 in Shanghai, China, Shi Zhiying currently works and lives in Shanghai. She obtained her master's degree from the Oil Painting Department of the Shanghai University College of Fine Arts in 2005. Shi Zhiying is known for her extensive scenes with nearly monochromatic brushstrokes, such as seas, sands, and grasses. She attempts to express the state of existence of things through the language of painting. In Shi Zhiying's painting practice, the mutual transformation of "emergence" and "disappearance" is particularly emphasized: the texture and volume of water bodies, rocks, containers, Buddha statues, and beads are presented through painterly brushstrokes, yet the shapes of the objects are not solid but conveyed through independently established lines, brushstrokes, and pigments, conveying the internal breath and rhythm logic in interaction with visual experience, establishing a perceptual yet stable structure. The artist reflects the transience brought by the generation and dissolution of things with her smooth and observant paintings, capturing the extremely slow but continuous transformation occurring between things, the painting plane, and the perception of states.
Shi Zhiying: Dunhuangis a very large place, a bit like an encyclopedia, integrating the characteristics of different regional cultures and historical periods.
Q: What was your first impression of Dunhuang? What were your expectations before going?
A: In my memory, Dunhuang is a very large place, a bit like an encyclopedia, integrating the characteristics of different regional cultures and historical periods. Through painting or sculpture, you can see the evolution of culture. I am very curious about how the words in the Buddhist scriptures are transformed into images, which is particularly attractive to me as a painter.
Q: You mentioned that you have been to Dunhuang three times, what are the different feelings each time?
A: Twice were with friends and family, which were more like travel. And one time was special, with a group of experts from various countries, including painters, writers, musicians, cultural historians, and directors. That experience was very unique, especially because we saw caves that are not usually open to the public. A moment that impressed me was when an Indian musician sang a piece of ancient Indian music in the cave, which she said was used to offer or praise Buddha. That sound was like a heavenly melody, shocking everyone.
Q: In the environment of Dunhuang, were there any special physical feelings?
A: Once I went to Dunhuang in winter, it was very cold at that time, but when you stand in the snowy scenery looking at the beautiful images of the caves, you forget the cold. The biggest physical difference may be the dryness, compared to the humid climate of Shanghai, this dryness left a deep impression on me. In addition, there is a unique smell in the caves, mixed with minerals, pigments, and traces of time, this smell is very memorable.
Q: How did your experience in Dunhuang affect your creation?
A: In fact, since I moved to a new studio in 2019, I started a period of exploring with color. This is closely related to the influence of Dunhuang, especially those halo images. The color matching and light sense of the halo fascinated me, and I tried to study the relationship between colors through painting, as well as the texture of thick and thin painting.
Q: Why do people feel joy when looking at the Buddha statues you painted?
A: This feeling comes from the statues in the Dunhuang caves. When you look at those images, you naturally feel joy. This emotion is very simple and fair, and it does not require professional art history knowledge, everyone can feel it. I hope to convey this feeling through painting.
Q: How do you view the evolution of the statue series creation?
A: When I first started painting Buddha statues, they were more solemn, and I chose scenes like the "Cave of Ten Thousand Buddhas" - similar to painting the sea or stones, with countless subtle changes under a single theme. Later, I gradually conveyed more joy through color, dynamics, composition, and other means. Color is closely related to emotion, and it can make people feel different, which is also the content I want to express.