VIBRARTION 22: THE ALLEGORIES

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A Vancouver Biennale Special Project

Artist: CHEN Wenling

Curator: Michael Suh

Venues: Vancouver Biennale Open Air Museum (Outdoor)

               Sunzen Art Gallery (Indoor)

Chen Wenling’s art often deals with three themes: personal experience, human desire, and community imagination. His vocabulary usually includes exaggerated forms, bright colours, whimsical and metaphorical tones. Frequently using industrial materials, his works are modest and earthy, and always have a timeless quality. Following his ambitious solo exhibition in Beijing Mingsheng Art Museum, Duration of Allegories, Chen Wenling has brought his ‘Allegories’ to Vancouver, with two monumental sculptures featured in the Vancouver Biennale‘s Open Air Museum and an indoor exhibition at Sunzen Art Gallery, all curated by Michael Suh.

The Proud Youth is a representative piece of Chen Wenling’s Red Memories Series. It is named after a popular Wuxia (Martial Heroes) novel The Smiling, Proud Wanderer (Xiao Ao Jiang Hu), which in Chinese literally means to live a carefree life in a mundane world of strife and is always read as a political allegory. The bright red colour signifies not only auspiciousness in Chinese tradition,  but also a testament to the artist's fiery attitude towards life. The red figure, naked and free, fully reveals his honesty and fearlessness. Simple and truthful – this work creates a direct communication between man and nature, and initiates a sincere conversation between people and society. The cheeky expression and arresting pose are a celebratory call to the audiences, inviting them to embrace their inner child.  

While the Proud Youth investigates human-world relationships on the social level, the Boy Holding a Shark looks into the human-nature subject. Sharks are often considered to be ferocious animals. However, due to humans’ endless thirst for interest and expansion of destructive activities, the oceans and marine life, including sharks, have severely suffered from environmental damages, such as global warming and sea pollution, that are fatal to marine life.  This work is the artist's reflection on the growing tension between humans and the ocean. It is an alert that the destruction of nature will eventually counteract humanity itself. The artist hopes to evoke concerns about environmental issues through the power of art and inspire changes in the global community.