The China Project

93 Three Decades: The Contemporary Chinese Collection WANG Youshen Wang Youshen’s installation and conceptual art practice was formed during the ’85 New Wave period, a time of unprecedented openness characterised by an emphasis on individuality and experimentation. Yu Gong and his later generations (Yu Gong he tade zizi sunsun) 1986 belongs to a group of nine paintings Wang created for his graduation exhibition from the Folk Art department of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing. The title refers to a Chinese folktale Yu Gong Yi Shan , meaning ‘foolish man moving the mountain’. The story describes Yu Gong (a man aged in his 90s) using primitive tools in an attempt to move two large mountains blocking the view from his house. Initially he is laughed at, but Yu Gong replies to those who mock him, ‘I may not be able to do it myself, but I have my children, and my children have their children. One day we will move the mountain’. 1 The traditional story emphasises the importance of family and descendants in preserving the memories of ancestors; however, Wang has used the folktale to reflect on China’s contemporary situation. Created during a period of significant change, the painting conveys a message of hope: if one waits and works hard enough, one’s dreams and wishes will come true. The removal of the mountain could symbolise the disintegration of the worst excesses of Mao Zedong’s reign and the beginning of an era in which the individual is celebrated. The story is, however, ambiguous and controversial, because Yu Gong’s action is also stubborn and senseless: it would be easier to move his house than to move mountains. Wang may have been drawing comparisons with Mao’s economic policies, which cost vast amounts of effort and labour, but resulted in widespread famine and poverty. When Wang created Portrait series – Frame 1990, he was the art editor for the Beijing Youth Daily and, perhaps by association, the use of text or print became important in his work. In this concertina-style album, each page is occupied by paper cut-outs of heads from the pages of calligraphy manuals used for teaching students. At eye level in the centre of each head, Wang has placed a small red and white sticker, which he intentionally left blank. These stickers resemble those used for filing or for school text books. It has been suggested that the heads are vessels onto which meaning can be adhered or imposed. 2 This potentially ominous facelessness is also reflected in Wang’s own absence from his creation. In contrast to his earlier painting, no brushwork or individualistic mark is present in the album, instead he uses found materials to create his art. endnotes 1 This account is by artist Cai Guo-Qiang in Cai Guo- Qiang, Foolish Man and his Mountain . <http://www.caiguoqiang.com/text_writing.php >, aviewed 23 January 2008. 2 Claire Roberts, collection documentation, unpublished, 11 February 2007. opposite Yu Gong and his later generations (Yu Gong he tade zizi sunsun) 1986 Oil on masonite / 94 x 79cm / Gift of Nicholas Jose and Claire Roberts through the Queensland Art Gallery Foundation 2008 above Portrait series – Frame 1990 Collage on paper, mounted in a commercially produced silk brocade-covered concertina- folding Chinese-style album (ceye) / 30 pages: 34 x 26.5cm (each) / Gift of Nicholas Jose and Claire Roberts through the Queensland Art Gallery Foundation 2008