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Edutainment > Wen Mujiang - Shadow of Breeze

Mr. Wen Mujiang at work
copyright Wen Mujiang

Chinese woodblock printmaker Wen Mujiang, born 1970, is one of the most successful artists in artelino's auctions of modern Chinese prints. Following the great success of his woodblock series "The Faraway Sparrow Sounds", the artist has started a new series titled "Shadow of Breeze".

Cultural Shock

The art prints by Wen Mujiang deal with the contrasts and cultural changes in today's China. The booming economy in the 1990s and at the beginning of the new millennium created rapid social and environmental changes that set in only twenty years after the end of the Cultural Revolution under Mao Zedong.

Wen Mujiang tries to provoke his viewers to think about the cultural shock that the modern civilization brought to the traditional culture. In his series "The Faraway Sparrow Sounds" he shows ethnic minority people in their traditional costumes towards the background of a typical modern city image of today's China. These city images could be anywhere in the world. Huge labels and screens advertising for Western products dominate the street scene. The ethnic people are lost. They look like they came right out of their village into this urban environment for the first time. They look confused and shell-shocked.

Shadow of Breeze

Mr. Wen Mujiang at work
copyright Wen Mujiang

His new series "Shadow of Breeze" keeps the "leitmotiv" of the "Faraway Sparrow Sounds". But it goes one step further. It shows how the modern civilization intrudes into the rural world and threatens to destroy the traditional environment in the countryside that used to be characterized by small villages with traditional houses.

At first sight the images of "Shadow of Breeze" look like family photos of ethnic women with children. The women look somewhat worried and as if they are disgusted by something unknown.

When you look at the print images more closely you will discover the reason for the women's concern and the common theme of the series. Each of the prints shows the shadow of an airplane on the ground or an airplane in the air while in take-off. It is obvious that recently an airport was constructed close to the people's village.

Large Woodblock Prints Created on a Small Balcony

Wen Mujiang has started the series in 2007. So far it consists of four designs. We do not know if the artist intends to expand it beyond the four designs or if he will start another project afterwards.

We have recently (June 2007) learned that Wen Mujiang has made all his woodblock prints on a small balcony of less than 5 square meters. His successful sales with artelino auctions have encouraged him to establish his own woodcut studio soon.

The series has an edition size of 12 and is made as all prints by Wen Mujiang that we have seen so far in the technique of woodcuts. They were printed in oil-based colors on a very thick, nearly card board-like Chinese paper

Shadow of Breeze No.1

Shadow of Breeze No. 1
copyright Wen Mujiang

Shadow of Breeze No. 1 - detail
copyright Wen Mujiang

The common theme of the airplane is visible in the sky and as a shadow on the wall of the traditional house of the ethnic people. The children look intimidated, and the women's faces show consternation.

Shadow of Breeze No.2

Shadow of Breeze No. 2
copyright Wen Mujiang

Shadow of Breeze No. 2 - detail
copyright Wen Mujiang

In the number 2 design the women seem to look at something in the far distance. The presence of airplanes in this design is a bit harder to recognize - as a small shadow cast on one of the traditional thatch roof houses.

Shadow of Breeze No.3

Shadow of Breeze No. 3
copyright Wen Mujiang

Shadow of Breeze No. 3 - detail
copyright Wen Mujiang

The number 3 design shows small shadows of two airplanes against the ground.

Shadow of Breeze No.4

Shadow of Breeze No. 4
copyright Wen Mujiang

Shadow of Breeze No. 4 - detail
copyright Wen Mujiang

Design number 4 shows the leitmotiv in the right upper corner - an airplane obviously during the take-off phase. The shadow is cast against the wall of the house. One of the women has her eyes turned up in fear and despair.

All four designs show only women and children - no men. Where are the men? Are the in the big cities as cheap and exploited migrant workers?

Artist's Statement about "Shadow of Breeze"

Only one day after the publication of this article, we received the following statement of the artist about his new series. The text was slightly edited by artelino

"I lived in an obscure village when I was still a child. There was no electricity and no communication equipment at that time. What I knew about the world and scientific knowledge is from the textbook and a film that we could watch once per month. I remember that we were so happy when a truck or plane passed. We thought these were symbols of high technology. I left my hometown for some years. My villagers still live with their pure and original way of life. But the transformations that the new developments brought to them are like a huge, double-edged sword. It gave them better living conditions, but it also damaged their spirit."

"My new creation "Shadow of Breeze" is my true feeling and apprehension about the disappearance of the traditional culture under this form of internationalization. This series continues the "Faraway Sparrow Sounds" series. The characters are still free villagers. But the background is not the boisterous city but the natural village. All looks so harmonious, but the shadow of planes is like scars - scars that modern times left on tradition. There is also another aspect when I created this series: It was so pleasant for me to remember the simple happiness of my childhood."

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