Wu Jian\u2019an<\/p>\n
Engraved on watercolor paper, watercolor, acrylic, soaked in beeswax, cotton thread stitched and mounted on silk,<\/p>\n
Set of 7 pieces, each 237 x 195 cm, 2021\u20132022<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
“Incarnations”<\/strong> (\u201c\u5316\u8eab\u201d) is one of Wu Jian\u2019an\u2019s most iconic series. Its elements originate from his 2011 large-scale installation, Seven-Layered Shell<\/em><\/strong>. For that work, the artist created 186 distinct figures<\/strong>. Some were “portraits” of bizarre monsters from the ancient Chinese classic Classic of Mountains and Seas<\/em> (Shan Hai Jing<\/em><\/strong> \u300a\u5c71\u6d77\u7ecf\u300b)<\/strong>. He mixed these with satirical cartoons, visual puns, elements from Christian, Buddhist, and Hindu mythologies, graffiti, and pop culture imagery like T-shirts and animations. In his hands, simple objects transform into intricate creations. These layered figures, filled with countless eyes, either stare back at us or coolly ignore our presence, opening a window into an incredible cultural world within their bodies.<\/p>\n Using these 186 figures as his “<\/strong>alphabet,”<\/strong> Wu Jian\u2019an created the Incarnations<\/em> series. Every tiny unit in the composition goes through a highly controlled process: individual color design, laser cutting, hand-dyeing, beeswax immersion, and cotton thread sewing. However, the final vibrant result hides this rigid logic. Instead, what emerges is a delicate balance between total control and natural chaos.<\/p>\n In this exhibition, the seven-part work X\u00edng Ti\u0101n<\/em><\/strong> interprets the legend of an unyielding hero from ancient mythology. According to the Classic of Mountains and Seas<\/em>, X\u00edng Ti\u0101n was decapitated during a battle against the Yellow Emperor. His head was buried in the Changyang Mountains to keep it separate from his body. Undeterred, X\u00edng Ti\u0101n transformed his nipples into eyes and his navel into a mouth, continuing to swing his battle-axe. Many heroes in ancient Chinese lore suffered bodily trauma during great mythic battles\u2014stories that echo the “Oriental Wonders” found in Central Asian and European folklore. Appearing across different color spectrums, Wu\u2019s X\u00edng Ti\u0101n<\/em><\/strong> serves as a spiritual <\/strong>metaphor hidden in our genes, existing across different regions and eras represented by light and color.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n A series of seven works titled X\u00edng Ti\u0101n<\/em>: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo,<\/em> and Violet<\/em>.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Wu Jian\u2019an Engraved on watercolor paper, watercolor, acrylic, soaked in beeswax, cotton thread stitched and mounted on silk, Set of…<\/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-19963","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/museonazionaleromano.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/19963","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=19963"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/museonazionaleromano.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/19963\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19966,"href":"https:\/\/museonazionaleromano.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/19963\/revisions\/19966"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/museonazionaleromano.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19963"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}