OMENS：Recent Works by Wu Jian’an

Curator： Wu Hong

Date： 2016.11.4—12.11

Venue：Beijing Minsheng Art Musuem，First floor，Main Gallery

1. The Birth of the Galaxy

Color papercut and collage on Xuan Paper

set of 12, each 250 x 180cm

2012-2015

Hung side by side, the 12 paper cut and collage works, 250 x 180 cm each, form into mountain ranges. Some look like scenery from Gui Lin, inspire a variety of imaginative responses. The mountain ranges are composed of figures including the headless Xin Tian and other characters from the Classic of Mountains and Seas such as Ju Mang, Dan Zhu, Di Ren, etc. Xin Tian and the other figures seem to be exclaiming or dancing wildly in the mountain ranges, attempting to find his lost head. As one of the most courageous heroes in Chinese literature, Xing Tian continued chasing his enemy non - stop like a monster, even after his head was cut off. His strong and cruel spirit enabled his greatly weakened body to get up and continue fighting, instead of waiting for his spirit to leave his physical body, or to seek revenge in the afterlife. He is a cruel hero, full of passion and strength. By using this character I want to stimulate the fighting spirit in all of us in today's globalization and information explosion epoch.

becausetoday’s Chinese culturelooks as if it has been beheaded by its Western counterpart. Why don’t weimitate our ancestor Xin Tian, who had to use nipples as eyes and swing ax and shieldrandomly after losing his head?

Xin Tian also symbolizes a republican approach, because he used to be the Yellow Emperor’s intimate comrade and ruled together with him. But laterhe was beheaded, and the Yellow Emperor became adictator. Xin Tian’s lost head became a symbol of a republic that once existed in ancient history, and was sought out by many who were opposed to dictatorship.

The Birth of the Galaxy is composed of 12 works:

1、Innocence

The Yellow Emperor and Xin Tian used to be intimate friends.

There are two characters in this work, one with three horns on the head, symbolizing the Yellow Emperor, and the other with only one horn, symbolizing Xin Tian. They look into each other’s eyes, revealing a friendly relationship.

2、Pursue

They used to chase after beauties together.

There is a female on the left with her back turned towards the right. Xian Tian and the Yellow Emperor are both on the right, facing towards the back of the beauty. They pursue the same girl, which is an experience shared by many young men.

3、Water Control

They also tried to control a flood together.

The Yellow Emperor is on the top and Xian Tian is on the bottom, as if they are tumbling in the waves. This represents their flood control collaboration.

4、Eliminate Outsiders

When enemies approach, they would fight for each other without any hesitation.

Xian Tian is on the top and the Yellow Emperor is underneath, both with raised heads facing towards the left. The bottom of the image shows two human heads, representing a victory Xin Tian and the Yellow Emperor shared after fighting side by side.

5. Support and Opposition

Unfortunatelydisagreement emerged involuntarily and gradually divided the two.

The Yellow Emperor is on the left and Xian Tian is on the right. They facein opposite directions, suggesting their differences and conflicts.

6. Killing Intent

Finally the Yellow Emperor decided to kill Xin Tian.

Yellow Emperor and Xin Tian are both on the right, the Yellow Emperor above Xin Tian. The center left is covered with swords and knives, burying Xian Tian underneath, symbolizing the Yellow Emperor’s intent to kill Xin Tian.

7.Beheaded The Yellow Emperor beheaded Xin Tian whose head fell onto the ground and staredat the blood gushing into the sky.

This picture includes Xin Tian’s head at the bottom, a headless torso in the middle, and the blood gushing out from the neck into sky.

8、Hidde

The Yellow Emperor used his sword to hide Xin Tian’s head in remote mountains.

Xin Tian’s fallen head is hidden behind a long red sword, only revealing a portion of the head.

9. Courage

Headless Xin Tian became furious. He swung a huge ax, but could not find his enemy.

The torso of the headless Xin Tian is on the right. Blood gushed out from his neck into the clouds. A giant ax appears on the left, corresponding to Tao YuanMing’s poem that “Xin Tian swings his ax, forever filled with courage and ambition.”

10. The South

The Yellow Emperor took the throne and his words became the imperial decree.

The aged Yellow Emperor appears on the left, facing towards the right. Below him is a reclining animal, which looks both like a tiger and a dog. It suggests that the Yellow Emperor ended the republican approach and replaced it with dictatorship.

11.Rare Treasure

Many years passed by, Xin Tian’s hidden head in the mountain ranges became a legendary rare treasure.

Golden rays radiate from Xin Tian’s head in the mountain ranges. His lost head became a precious historical relic, indicating the once existing republican approach. His lost head became precious evidence of a republic that had once existed in ancient history.

12. Search

Numerous people entered the mountain ranges, hoping to find the lost scull, but with no success. Yet the searchers themselves turned into new mountain peaks and valleys.Many onlookers form into a mountain, symbolizing the hope to find the lost scull. Unfortunately that is an impossible mission.

2. Three King Tomb

Plaster, human hair

dimensions various

2016

Three sculls made of plaster and human hair areplaced underneath The Birth of the Galaxy. These identical sculls suggests confusion of identity and the loss of truth. In other words, in reality Xin Tian’s legendary hidden head cannever be found.

3.Omens

Nine animal specimens, iron plate, metal and plastic pipes, musical instruments, etc.

dimensions various

2016

 Nine animal specimens, including elephant, rhinoceros, tiger, horse, spotted deer, goat, sheep, goose and rooster.Each animal has some abnormalities, such as elephants with four teeth, tiger with nine heads, and deer with eyes on the back. These nine animals are like the animal omens described in the Classic of Mountains and Seas. Their bodilyabnormalities give us a glimpse into the future.

The nine animal specimens are also musical instruments. The sounds complement their forms, making them complete “omens”. Viewers can not only see the visual forms but also hear their voices. When the nine instruments are played at the same time, the music sounds like a kind of inexplicable phenomenonoccurring accidently with a gathering of omens gathering.

There will be multiple performances throughout the exhibition “Omens.”

Omens are a unique phenomenon, and can be considered as an important message from Heaven to the Earth. At the same time, they can be viewed as a political tool that engineers power play. They are not only blessings or warnings fromthe future, but also a reality formed by collective will. In the long history of China, there are countless legends about omens. They have been preserved in the Chinese heritage and will never fade away. A physical body carrying previous omens may have come into being because we are thinking about them today. Yet a real omen becomes a threat to overturn future events, or to create a new path diverging from the future.

There are nine Omens:

1、Elephant

specimen, instruments, iron plate

405 X 195 X 290cm

2016

The elephant is born with four teeth, two grew upwards and the other two downwards. Its posture seems to imitate Michelangelo’s Moses, attempting to stand on two feet or sit down. During a performance, a performerpounds on the elephant’s body, recalling the ancient proverb in which several blind men argued about what it is in front of them by only touching a part of an elephant’s body.

2、Tiger

specimen, instruments, iron plate

209 X 84 X 114cm

2016

The Tiger has nine heads, just like the Kunlun “enlightened” animals documented in the Classic of Mountains and Seas. It is performed by blowing into the tiger’s mouth.

3、Rhinoceros

specimen, instruments, iron plate

285 X 80 X 149cm

2016

The horn grows forward. Its posture resemblesDürer’s Rhinoceros.

4、Horse

specimen, instruments, iron plate

218 X 60 X 174cm

2016The horse is covered with monochromatic long motifs. Its posture resembles the stone carvingHorses Stomping on Xiongnuin HuoQubing’s tomb.

5、Spotted Deer

specimen, instruments, iron plate

150 X 38 X 138cm

2016

Instead of having eyes in its head, the spotted deer has eyes in its buttocks. The posture suggests a nursing female deer, which remains vigilant and alert. When played as an instrument, the performer blowsfrom the breastfeeding position as if he or she is suckling deer milk.

6、Goat

specimen, instruments, iron plate

146 X 47 X 53cm

2016

The goat has long bushy beard that goes all the way to its knees, just like Guan Gong. The posture suggests a body embracing dance.

7、Sheep

specimen, instruments, iron plate

75 X 27 X 79cm

2016

The sheep has only one eye,at the center of its eyebrows.

When played as instrument, the performer holds the sheep and blows into its ear.

8、Goose

specimen, instruments, iron plate

60 X 30 X 80cm

2016

The Goose has a neck two to three times longer than normal. The posture resembles Leonardo da Vinci’s Leda and the Swan.

9、Rooster

specimen, instruments, iron plate

50 X 65 X 55cm

2016

A fighting rooster with a wooden stick as part of its body.

4. Daydream Forest

Seventeen tree shaped brass sculptures. Each tree is divided intotwo sections, and each section is characterized by unique forms and figures. All these figures are from the papercuts Wu Jian’an created during 2003-2004, especially during the SARS epidemic. The artist called them Daydreams, as if they were make-believe friends who accompanied him through that chaotic period.

All seventeen sculptures are named after trees: Willow, Cherry, Locust, Mahogany, Nan, Yang, Pine, Cedar, Maple, Birch, Plum, Paulownia, Oak, Camphor, Ebony, Osmanthus, and Hibiscus. Together these trees form a radiating forest, with the Omen animals inside.