Between Worlds
Wenyan Xu
Degree: MFA
Area: Painting
Wenyan Xu
Thesis Statement
The word World is in close relation with the earth or its inhabitants, human affairs and their corresponding era of time. In this sense, we belong to different material and spiritual worlds at once. For instance, you stand on the land of one nation, but your identity belongs to another. At the same time, you may be living in a Christian family, but yourself being an agnostic. Everyone’s worlds compose this complex world and forms reality. What mechanism between these worlds shape the trajectory of our lives? What determines the direction of reality?
My work attempts to explore these issues from a perspective of dimensions, which is inspired by some theories from science, Taoism and parapsychology. The visible material world is shaped and limited by the speed of light, but that doesn't mean there aren’t any worlds that we can’t see, such as our psyche, emotions and feelings. As the innermost power of humans, these invisible worlds create the most active energy, determining the destiny of the individual. The collective energy of individuals then composes a collective consciousness of the society, which influences and changes its history and development. In short, I want the viewers to realize that their individual spirits and emotions are what truly shape their reality.
To that end, I make figure-based works not using the traditional approach, but in a way that emphasizes viewers’ perceptual experiences. Figures with ambiguous characteristics are illustrated as full of emotions. Along with figurative demonstrations, the anomalous materials embody a different sensation, representing the material world. The painting as a whole ultimately makes viewers switch between the worlds of inner psyche and material reality as they’re observing.