Heaven and Earth Branches – Year of Gengzi

Liu Yang
Yuan Zuo
Ph.D in Fine Arts
Painting Theory and Practice
2022-02-07
Color
Portraiture
Mixed medium
The work "Heaven, Dry earth and Branches -- The Year of Boxer" originated from the rethinking of the relationship between people and nature caused by the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020. The heavenly stem and earthly branches originated from the observation of celestial phenomena in ancient China, which is a rational generalization of the perceived natural order. In history, the Year of Boxer is considered as an unlucky year due to frequent visions. The work presents the game relationship between individuals and collectives, obedience and confrontation, closure and openness in a series of daily essays by looking for typical images in network information and journals that can be seen everywhere since the year of 2020. It expresses the tension and powerlessness of individual life in special historical events.
  • Heaven and Earth Branches – Year of Gengzi The work "Heaven, Dry earth and Branches -- The Year of Boxer" originated from the rethinking of the relationship between people and nature caused by the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020. The heavenly stem and earthly branches originated from the observation of celestial phenomena in ancient China, which is a rational generalization of the perceived natural order. In history, the Year of Boxer is considered as an unlucky year due to frequent visions. The work presents the game relationship between individuals and collectives, obedience and confrontation, closure and openness in a series of daily essays by looking for typical images in network information and journals that can be seen everywhere since the year of 2020. It expresses the tension and powerlessness of individual life in special historical events.