Calligraphy meets Taoism at Serindia Gallery
Chinese painting and calligraphy project a sense of harmony with nature
Calligraphy meets Taoist philosophy in Wei Yifeng’s exhibition at the Serindia Gallery on Charoen Krung. In her work, the lyricism of ink and water on rice paper encapsulates the spirit of wu wei. The exhibition itself is titled “Wu Wei”, or “Action In/Action”, a way of thinking in Taoism that centres upon “the way of nature” and the sense of harmony that comes from the act of effortless non-manipulation.
Chinese-born Wei has studied under acclaimed artists including Xu Xi, master Chinese landscape painter Hu Nien-Tsu in New York, Au Ho‐Nien, Li Chi-Mao in Taiwan and Morioka Shunayama in Japan. She attended the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing where she trained formally in Chinese shui mo (ink) painting, calligraphy and seal carving. Two of her calligraphy works have been immortalised in stone as part of permanent exhibition collections in China.
In this exhibition, Yifeng deconstructs traditional brush strokes and rearranges them to create something that stems from traditional practices of calligraphy but simultaneously feels contemporary. In this new body of art, modernism collides with tradition to explore intuition, mindfulness and the forces of nature.
How did the concept of your work come about?
I have always enjoyed the practice of Chinese painting and calligraphy. With many years of training in traditional Chinese painting and calligraphy techniques, I like to explore new ways of integrating the two traditional categories — painting and calligraphy — into one, while retaining the basic essential elements such as ink and colour with brush strokes on rice paper.
What is ‘Wu Wei’?
Wu wei in Chinese literally means ‘doing nothing’ or ‘inaction’. It is built upon the forces of nature. The work of nature is the most powerful in this universe — it can nourish us and also has the power to destroy us. By doing nothing, we allow nature to run its course, bring balance, and achieve equilibrium and harmony.
Wu wei also means that after mindfulness, judging the circumstances at the time, and by acting in accordance to the laws of nature, all will be worked out for the best.
There are many interpretations from different schools of thought in ancient China. One school of thought is illustrated in the Shuo Yuan — Ming Tao Pian ( Garden Of Speech — Chapter Of Understanding Tao), which states that the Tao of nature, or the way of nature, is fundamentally inaction, by taking inaction itself is in fact an action.
I like to create art pieces that can lift up the spirits of viewers
Why do you connect to this philosophy and why did you decide to explore it through this body of art?
Nature has always been the inspiration for my paintings. Whether while trekking among the majesty of mountain peaks, travelling against the vast horizon of a desert, or sitting before an ever-changing scene of ocean waves … all of these invoke in me a deep appreciation of what nature has provided us. The question of how the universe came about and the mystery of the creation of our universe also lingers in my mind. This is why I chose to express some of these feelings in my new series of paintings and adopt the spirit of wu wei.
How is the idea of inaction and action encapsulated in your calligraphy?
At the beginning of every painting, before I even let my brush and paint touch the rice paper, I take some time to organise in my mind what, where and how I would like the ink and colour to land. In effect I do a brief of meditation of yun qi — an exercise in mindfulness to allow universal energy qi to circulate in my body. With the control of speed and force, I spatter the brush down onto the paper and let the ink and colour land freely. Some ink and colour may land in unexpected areas where I didn’t previously plan. I keep these as they are without alteration. If I try to make alterations, it may disrupt the flow of qi — the movement of energy may be disrupted. On many occasions, the outcome is better than I expected. In some cases when the splashes don’t come out harmoniously, I discard the whole painting and redo it. In that case, I consider that piece as the one that I practice on and/or a draft of the final painting.
In this way of practice, I take action to plan and execute my ideas, and the inaction part is to allow nature to take its course and accept the outcome.
Can you tell us about the significance of the form and materials that you use in creating your pieces?
Modern Chinese characters were developed from the earlier forms of pictographs. I have always been attracted to the beautiful crude forms of ancient characters. So whenever I write calligraphy, I like to write in the style of da zhuan, which was the style frequently used for carving on stones or casting onto metal vessels. As for the materials I use for my paintings, I like to keep the tradition of using rice paper and ink as the main material. I am comfortable using water soluble colours such as ink, watercolour and acrylic. I sometimes use acrylic when I want to achieve a certain effect with stronger colours, which may not be possible to obtain with watercolours.
I am an optimist. I like to view things in their most delightful form. Our daily routines in today’s modern world can often be quite hectic and stressful. I like to create art pieces that can lift up the spirits of viewers. I also hope that my art pieces can be experienced as a vehicle to contemplate and obtain peace and harmony, or perhaps even to simply offer temporary relief for the tired and overburdened.
Can you tell us about the concept of dismantling brush strokes — why did you choose to combine modern and traditional elements in your calligraphy?
I love the ancient character style of da zhuan with its raw beauty and I therefore frequently choose this style of writing for my calligraphy pieces. When judging a piece of calligraphy, there is typically a standard/criteria to meet that the Chinese adopt. I would like to integrate the two different categories of painting and calligraphy in one.
In this series ‘Action In/Action’, I am experimenting with my new concept of dismantling the characters in calligraphy and rearranging them in different orders to create a new painting/set of paintings as you may see in a few of my works. When viewers are not initially able to recognise the character, they see it as a piece of contemporary abstract painting. This might invoke an even deeper feeling and understanding of the piece of work.
Action In/Action runs at the Serindia Gallery until March 26.