‘LOOK BEYOND’
An old bed frame, a used bed sheet and even some branches from a tree… Chinese artist Chen Chunmu seems to enjoy using anything he can get his hands on to create his art.
For his latest solo exhibition Look Beyond What
We See at the Beijing Hongkun Museum of Fine Art, Chen is showcasing a series of new works inspired by the simplicity of life in his hometown in far off East China’s Fujian Province.
“You must wonder why the first installation is called My Weapon,” he told the Global Times on Sunday.
The artist explained that the installation is inspired by a local custom in his hometown, which in his eyes is a superstition as well as a waste of money that produces air pollution. The tradition involves locals firing off muskets as they ask the heavens to make them wealthy or fulfil other desires.
“So I collected some muskets and then added the shape of the smoke coming out of the barrel to the end to create the work My Weapon,” he said.
One of the only two people to graduate from college during the 2000s, Chen has noticed that an increasing amount of young men have been leaving the village to work
in big cities, leaving the elderly, women and children at home.
“To address the emptying of villages, I painted messages from young students on a used bed frame taken from the bunk beds commonly found in dormitories and left wishes from those young students,” he said. In his work You Always Leave Quietly
When I Sleep, a bedsheet is painted with blossoming flowers, a symbol often seen in many of his works.
“For me, flowers are a part of the natural world. They are a symbol of growth,” he explained.
As a beipiao, or “Beijing drifter,” who has moved far from his home, Chen expresses his hopes for the future in the large installation Not Just Connect to You. In the artwork, beautiful artificial flowers are seen blossoming from old rotten pieces of wood.
“At the top portion everything we see is so gorgeous and doesn’t wither away, but the roots are rotten. This tells us to always stay alert for the unexpected,” said the 37-year-old artist.
Each work at the Hongkun Museum of Fine Art is also accompanied by a short essay that gives insight into his artistic vision.
One such essay reads as follows: “Boundless loneliness is awaiting me. Look! They are back again. Loneliness grows as time passes, withstanding the test of time. Every step is utterly worthwhile. They constantly emit light to lead you.
The loneliness is so delighted, so genuine, and the shadow under the moonlight is constantly indiscernible,
However, they are not dull at least.” The exhibition will end on May 6.