Wu Jian\u2019an<\/p>\n
Leather, metal frame, LED light source<\/p>\n
540 x 391 x 10cm<\/p>\n
2008-2009<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
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The Nine Layers of Heaven<\/em><\/strong> is a monumental work of hand-carved leather. Its visual language is rooted in the intricate motifs of traditional shadow puppetry, yet it adopts a contemporary perspective to innovate new imagery and challenge the scales of conventional carving. The result is a detailed visual map that feels alive and moving.<\/p>\n The iconography of the work features nine types of animals layered within one another<\/strong>: birds, humans with bird faces, human-headed birds, feathered immortals, humans, tigers, frogs, giant salamanders, and fish. These nine creatures are arranged in a sequence that travels from the highest heavens down to the deep sea<\/strong>.<\/p>\n These animals are locked in a continuous chain of devouring and encompassing. At the very center, a tiny bird bites a fish. As the layers grow larger, the roles shift: in the inner layers, a bird might eat a fish, but in the outer layers, a giant fish eventually swallows a giant bird. The adversaries in this cycle are fixed, but their dominance changes with their size. Thus, the work represents a single link in an infinite chain that can extend endlessly in both directions.<\/p>\n The adversaries in this cycle are fixed, but their dominance shifts: in the inner layers, where A is larger than B, A consumes B; in the outer layers, as B grows larger, it is B\u2019s turn to consume A. Thus, The Nine Layers of Heaven <\/em>represents a single segment of an infinite chain, capable of extending endlessly in both directions.<\/p>\n This work serves as a metaphor for a world where everything is “predestined.” It offers a subtle reminder that the boundaries<\/strong> we create\u2014whether they are cultural or social roles\u2014may be temporary or even absurd<\/strong>. By mixing mythical beings with real-world animals, Wu Jian\u2019an pays tribute to ancient traditions while showing the limits of what we know. It suggests that behind our fixed knowledge, there is a raw vitality waiting to breathe new life into the world.<\/p>\n *Leather has long been widely used in traditional Chinese art. The materials presented here were not created specifically for this installation.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Wu Jian\u2019an Leather, metal frame, LED light source 540 x 391 x 10cm 2008-2009 The Nine…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-19952","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/museonazionaleromano.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/19952","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/museonazionaleromano.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/museonazionaleromano.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/museonazionaleromano.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/museonazionaleromano.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19952"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/museonazionaleromano.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/19952\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19953,"href":"https:\/\/museonazionaleromano.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/19952\/revisions\/19953"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/museonazionaleromano.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19952"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}