Back to Art in the Fields: Xu Bin’s Creative Experiment - Part II
Xu Bin, through four thought-provoking pieces, explores the journey of life, its resilience, fragility, and vitality, as well as the individual's efforts and perseverance on the stage of life. Each piece skillfully employs natural and man-made materials, using a simple yet powerful visual language to convey the multifaceted and profound nature of life.
In this evocative installation, Xu Bin articulates his profound contemplation on life's journey. Crafted from a discarded length of wood and vibrantly painted blocks, the piece employs a simple yet powerful visual vocabulary. The contrasting hues of natural brown and vibrant red immediately captivate the viewer's gaze, drawing attention to the deliberate arrangement of the blocks.
"The blocks are rhythmically placed upon the wood, reminiscent of burgeoning mushrooms," Xu Bin explains. "Life often emerges in the most unexpected places, flourishing even amidst adversity."
This carefully orchestrated progression, from smaller to larger blocks, evokes a sense of directionality and momentum, symbolizing growth and evolution. The artwork also reflects Xu Bin's musings on our own existence as sentient beings, mirroring how we navigate the complexities of life, surmounting challenges (represented by the log's imperfections) and commemorating triumphs (embodied by the red blocks).
This art installation indeed embodies profound reflections and thoughts on life. The artist skillfully employs red wooden blocks and stacked wood to construct a meaningful imagery. The red blocks, like mushrooms sprouting after the rain, symbolize the vitality and perpetuity of life. They appear to be scattered randomly on the wood, yet they exhibit a natural growth force. The high stacks of wood, resembling continuous mountain peaks, represent inevitable challenges and obstacles.
The work aims to convey that life, like mushrooms, can find ways to survive and develop even in adversity. No matter how rugged the path is or how many difficulties and dangers it is filled with, the resilience and hope of life can help us overcome obstacles and ultimately reach the ideal shore.
This evocative art installation features a weathered tree root, its gnarled form painted with a splash of red at one end. The root itself bears a striking resemblance to a horse, a poignant symbol chosen by the artist, Xu Bin, to represent his reflections on life. The desiccated wood speaks to the fragility and ephemerality of existence, while the vibrant red paint signifies the last vestiges of vitality, urging the observer to cherish each fleeting moment. Positioned thoughtfully on the edge of a concrete path bordering a vegetable garden, the sculpture draws the gaze of villagers passing by.
The artist has constructed a minimalist stage using simple wooden planks, boldly painted in vibrant red. Upon this platform, he has carefully placed a uniquely shaped tree root, its form reminiscent of a snail slowly making its way across. This, he posits, is the protagonist upon life's stage, an individual striving quietly, yet steadily, to tell their own story. The snail, though moving at its own measured pace, embodies unwavering determination, ultimately reaching its destination.