Artist seeks to explore 'relationship between fire and paper' with new series, Xu Haoyu reports.
Work from Xiang Hao's Map series, part of his project focusing on art expression on paper. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)
Xiang Hao, a 39-year-old artist who's based in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, was exhibiting 11 of his works at Once Gallery in Beijing. With a curiosity to observe "the relationship between fire and paper", he has partially burned his paintings and named the series Map.
"It's hard to describe the shape of fire, but the clue is leaked out through the trace it leaves," Xiang says.
For me, art is not a piece of bread that fills my stomach. It’s more like an open window with fresh air coming through.
Xiang Hao, artist
The artist drew circles with ink, charcoal and acrylic on rice paper, representing the contours of the terrain and the power of nature.
"Any matter in the universe has its own power from the moment it is created, and at this point, the spreading waveform of the circles is like a restricted or unrestricted version of the field of matter. Some of the power is within our physical reach, while others can only be felt with the heart," says Xiang.
He mentions the saying "fire cannot be wrapped in paper", which Chinese people use while expressing the idea that the truth cannot be concealed.
"I wonder what will come out when I'm trying to control something that is not easy to control," he says.
Work from Xiang Hao's Map series, part of his project focusing on art expression on paper. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)
On his finished "maps", Xiang attempts to draw the latitude and longitude lines with sparks, destroying and disconnecting the map, and providing a fragile sense of beauty at the same time.
Xiang claims that the burning process did not initially come to his mind, but the flammability of paper made him consider fire as its antithesis. He wanted to see paper and fire fighting against each other and leaving unique traces.
Xiang chose rice paper, or xuanzhi in Chinese, and handmade paper as his canvas.
Papermaking, as one of the four greatest inventions by ancient Chinese people, marked the development of civilization.
"The trajectory of our existence is now like straight lines that rarely intersect, and most of us are more concerned with personal business than looking after each other. It made me wonder if paper and fire, the two substances that repel, could coexist through artistic expression," he says.
Work from Xiang Hao's Map series, part of his project focusing on art expression on paper. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)
Xiang's works received recognition from his peers and visitors at the Beijing exhibition, which concluded on Sunday.
"The artist attempts to control the marks of fire on paper to create a totem of the tug between control and loss of control," says Guan Yichi, a 33-year-old artist based in Beijing.
"However, it is clear that Xiang has no intention of compromising. The uncontrollable spread of fire on paper is where this silent game comes to life."
Xiang graduated from Shandong University of Art and Design in Jinan, Shandong province, in 2006, with a major in visual communication design, and then worked for Wieden+Kennedy, a US-based advertising agency in Shanghai.
In 2014, he moved to Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, and worked with Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group until he resigned and became a full-time independent artist in 2017.
Work from Xiang Hao's Map series, part of his project focusing on art expression on paper. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)
Xiang's wife, Bao Tiantian, 35, says she supports her husband's choice. "Xiang is a romantic man, not the roses-and-candlelit-dinner kind of romantic, but discovering and enjoying pleasures and blessings in ordinary life."
Xiang's experience in the advertising industry made him sensitive to popular elements, but also cast doubt on the fast consumption culture, he says.
A good artwork should be able to inspire viewers to think independently, even after leaving a gallery or flicking through a catalog, which is different from advertising that relies on the immediate gratification of the consumer, he adds.
"Creating art allows me to break away from the mental game of 'selling' and focus on myself. I no longer have to worry about the reaction of the audience, which used to be one of my main concerns in advertising," he says, adding that creating art now for him is a process of discovering himself.
Work from Xiang Hao's Map series, part of his project focusing on art expression on paper. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)
Xiang has held onto his habit of waking up early. He takes a 10-minute walk to his studio after watering the plants and feeding two tortoises at home. He returns home for dinner with his family.
"For me, art is not a piece of bread that fills my stomach. It's more like an open window with fresh air coming through," Xiang says.
Xiang says there are two ways to learn art－one is to "learn from our seniors" and the other is to learn from nature.
The series Map, as a result of the latter, was inspired by his visit to the Grand Canyon in the United States in 2018, where he got to know the characteristic landscapes and local culture.
Xiang Hao, artist. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)
The series is the first chapter of an ongoing project started in 2018, which focuses on art expression on paper. The project was initially inspired by a traditional hand-dyeing technique, which is an interesting process of tying parts of a fabric to control the range and effect of dye on cloth.
"The unending changes during the process and its various potential outcomes fascinate me," he says.
In the second part of the project, Xiang has pulled paper apart and cobbled them together in an order to suit his mood and feelings, and for the third, he will overlay paper.
Contact the writer at xuhaoyu@chinadaily.com.cn
