| The spiritual essence of the silly man originates
from the philosophy of Lao Zhuang. Scholars of historical times
often display a sense of helplessness when faced with society's
problems, most choose to give up. I feel that the act of giving
up is a state of humanity; it prevents one from conflicting
with society yet maintaining inner peace. To be able to give
all up allows one to be nonchalant and detached. All problems
can be solved with laughter-they simply disappear without causing
any heartache. This is how one may attain extraordinary peacefulness
within his inner self.
My preference for vibrant colors of folk culture makes my
creations more universal, more attractive and hence more acceptable
by the public. I merely want to articulate a complex issue
in a simple but appealing manner.
By employing traditional painting and sculpture techniques,
multiple clones of my self-portrait image have been created
in order to invent a new idol; similar to the approach of
television and movies. When an image is duplicated continuously,
the subsequent strength in numbers produces an immense force.
Once the image transforms into an idol, I am able to manipulate
and utilize the image repeatedly. An idol has a life-force,
it often influences our lives and regulates our conduct by
setting itself as an example. A contemporary society is an
idolized society, hence its culture becomes an idolized culture.
These are few themes I have presented in my work previously:
1 . The state of mind brought about by the influence of a
singular culture and ideology. My works often depict rows
of mindless, silly laughing men.
2 . Obscurity of the two sexes. This series of works feature
either men applying make-up or the exchange of unique characteristics
of both sexes.
3 . Conflict between Eastern and Western culture. Through
the re-composition of original famous Western paintings, the
original contents are thrown into discordance.
4 . Peculiarity of the written Chinese character(it has a
symbolic meaning in history). The human characters in my painting
s display various features of Chinese pictographs-they look
contorted and strange. It is a satire of the awkward state
of Chinese pictograph in current times.
5 . Portrayal of world conflict and war. There is no end
to killing in the human race-aliens form outer space probably
regard us as earth's laughing stock. My compositions are full
of mock shooting and killing, carried out in full laughter.
This is a form of ridicule at those who try to solve conflicts
through violent means
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