Kung fu creations
By Qi Xijia Source:Global Times Published: 2015-8-30 17:48:01
Artist’s exhibition explores impact of martial arts on modern times
One can define a hero as someone capable of great achievement, and who can break through limits.
One genre of film replete with just such heroes is kung fu, and this is celebrated in the ongoing exhibition So You Look Like You Got What It Takes II at ART LABOR Gallery, in which artist Ying Yefu gives his own definition of Chinese kung fu heroes with newly created Gongbi paintings featuring fictional kung fu practitioners.
As a sequel to his successful exhibition of last year, So You Look Like You Got What It Takes, Ying further explores the practice of kung fu and wuxia culture and its relationship with the average person and modern China.
Ying is based in Xi'an and has been practicing Gongbi painting, illustration and product design for more than a decade. His work is comprised of a clear East Asian style, though not necessarily a Chinese aesthetic, and deals with universal themes that are relatable across cultures.
The idea of painting kung fu practitioners came to Ying two years ago when he watched Wong Kar-wai's film The Grandmaster.
"I was deeply influenced by Wong's interviews with the kung fu masters. I was fascinated by their kung fu. However, neither in modern art nor traditional art is the theme fully explored, which is a waste to me. So I decided to give it a try," Ying told the Global Times.
Tracksuits plus Chinese chess
As always, Ying's painting is an assemblage of different elements that shouts out contradictions and expresses a myriad of possible meanings.
Painted in incredibly detailed lines, with very patiently applied color and shading, his portraiture of kung fu practitioners brings to life an imaginary world of unique poses and costumes.
In his Big Horse Instructionals series (pictured below), the characters wear strange helmets, black knots and ties, gloves for break dancing and a suit of armor from the Song Dynasty (960-1279).
He also adds comical elements to his figures using a Japanese manga style. By drawing a line slightly longer or raising an eyebrow slightly higher, the warriors become goofy or jokers.
They stand firmly on the surface of clouds, terrain and even chessboards, striking tough stances, and adopting fierce expressions and dynamic poses. Many of them pose traditional kung fu styles such as "Yun Tan Subduing a Tiger" and "Spreading the Grass Looking for a Snake."
Ying said that to figure out these styles he consulted a lot of comic books and visited Shanghai Kung Fu Museum and Shanghai University of Sport.
Kung fu of the common
To Ying, the endurance, repetition, persistence and honor of kung fu practice enabled China to reach the point of a decent society and see the population reach a good standard of living.
He denotes this relationship in the Big Horse Instructionals series, showing his figures striking strong or difficult kung fu positions and holding them, as one could characterize a true Chinese ability being patient and strong and waiting for success to arrive naturally from effort.
This relationship can also be seen in another of his series Mayhem in Space (above) in which he painted a hero in a black suit fighting numerous enemies in spacesuits in an imaginary satellite-turned martial arts school. It could be seen to express the courage of enduring the monotony, and to take the bull by the horns though outnumbered by the enemies.
For the artist, a hero isn't necessarily someone who is fighting battles on a large scale, but rather someone who sets an example for others to follow; not a superman with powerful authoritarianism, but rather an individual, standing for justice, honor, women and children, and a healthy society.
His heroes are men and women of a quiet nature who support the country's newly re-realized position of greatness in their own way, who sacrifice the more elaborate pleasures for the dedication to their jobs, families and their country.
"It is the practice of kung fu, in particular its popularity and tradition with average people, rather than as an elite practice of the wealthy, that has provided the support and strength that has brought China to this point in history," Martin Kemble, the gallery director told the Global Times.
"This time round his work is oddly absent of female figures, as few practice kung fu, and it is only this fact, not that women weren't an invaluable part of the success of the nation. His previous work was heavily focused on the female, in particular his mother."
Date: Until September 22, 10 am to 7 pm (Mondays to Saturdays); midday to 6 pm (Sundays)
Venue: ART LABOR Gallery
Address: Bldg 4, 570 Yongjia Road
永嘉路570号4号楼
Admission: Free
Call 3460-5331 for details
Jackie (not Chan)
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