A Language of Culture and Life
Artist Statement
In my creative practice, patterns transcend mere visual ornamentation and embody a language of culture and life. My artistic language draws from the visual structures of traditional Chinese garments and shadow puppet motifs. Through the reorganization of color and shape, ancient cultural symbols are transformed into a visual language with contemporary importance. I regard patterns not merely as formal compositions, but as media of culture, emotion, and time. They document the interaction between humans and their environment, as well as the rhythms of the human spirit.
The work Belonging (2015) represents a significant milestone in this creative trajectory. Drawing from traditional Chinese garments, architectural motifs, and natural elements, it constructs a visual space merging memory, culture, and daily life through the interplay of color and layered structures. The bamboo, flowers, birds, and traditional totems within the composition stem from observations of life and accumulated emotions, symbolizing the coexistence between nature and humanity, as well as the continuity of culture and sentiment. These symbols interweave and overlap within the composition to reflect the intertwined relationship between cultural inheritance and modern life, while also echoing my contemplation and pursuit of “Belonging.”
Building upon this foundation, my extended creative project will further explore the connections between “humans and land” and “nature and community.” Using topographic maps as extended visual symbols, I depict the fluid transformations of nature in Mineral Veins —soil erosion, cracked earth, river channel alterations, and shifting landform stratigraphy. These lines and layered images symbolize the passage of time and nature’s breath, reminding us of the fragile yet intimate interdependence between humanity and the natural environment. Through abstract translations of topography, I hope viewers will sense the rhythmic pulse of the Earth’s texture in the artwork and reflect on the tension between the depletion of natural resources and the advancement of human civilization.
Meanwhile, I continue the thematic spirit of my earlier work, Inner Gathering , to explore “inner beauty” and “connections between communities.” This “gathering” exists both in external social relationships and symbolizes the reconciliation of the individual with nature, the self with culture. Through layered color blocks, flowing lines, and symbolic compositions, the work presents a vision of the symbiosis between the spirit and nature, creating a visual space where inner and outer worlds merge. This invites audience to contemplate and empathize as they engage with the piece.
My overarching creative project centers on the axis of “ Cultural Texture—Natural Topography—Spiritual Coexistence .” It traces a path of exploration from the mind to the land, from culture to the environment, from the sense of cultural belonging in Belonging , to the contemplation of natural ecology in the Topography series, and finally to the inner convergence in Inner Gathering . Through this series, I aim to awaken respect for and awareness of environmental protection while reconnecting viewers to the profound bonds between humanity and land, community and self. At the intersection of culture and nature, we seek to discover a shared “beauty of belonging.”
