When you created Destiny, what do you personally make of borders in our civilisations such as class, race, gender, belief, nation?

Borders appear in many places, and because of them, there are nations and people, especially various individuals. Every individual is different, and due to the variety and dynamism of the individual, this world has become so interesting.

However, as human beings, apart from those borders, we share the same nature or property, for example, no one can escape “Destiny”.

Do you think there are new possibilities in abstract art and ink painting, and what is the particular area that you try to breakthrough?

Ink is only a medium of creativity, and abstract art is a way of expression. To be honest, many forerunners had explored so many possibilities, so that if there is any particular area to work on, I think it is to relate art with the “present”, expressing the “current” feelings.

Under the shadow of the Covid-19 pandemic, the world is reshaping, in this case, can you talk about how is the artwork made before the pandemic related to the Post-COVID Era?

Before the pandemic, the world was shaped mainly through connection, however, due to the rapid spread of COVID, we are forced to obey social distancing rules. I was surprised to witness that in my life, within a deeply globalised milieu, the disconnection of borders of countries is happening. Isn’t this what Laozi said: “And even though the next country is so close that people can hear its roosters crowing and its dogs barking, they are content to die of old age without ever having gone to see it”?

After the spread of the pandemic, a lot of places have decreed lockdown and many galleries and museums have been forced to suspend operating. Thereafter, people are not able to appreciate and enjoy art at an intimate distance. Exhibitions are converted to the online format. How to present art and express ideas and emotions has turned out to be urgent and practical matter in making art.

Regardless of the Pre or Post COVID era, art-making has always been expressed from the inside to the outside for artists. The pandemic has made me feel more deeply that when humans confronting destiny, how fragile and uncertain life is.

As a UK based Chinese, do you thin your identity is somehow related to the ecology of art?

The materials that I use are very Chinese, for instance, ink, brush and silk, and I feel they are part of my identity. I was born and raised in China and formed my way of thinking by Chinese education, it is also part of my identity. The longer that I live in the UK, the more I love Chinese culture, which defines who I am.

Contemporary art is about expression, about how to express, through what and with what content to express. The materials that I use is my identity, nevertheless, no matter what materials I use, as long as the artwork contains good ideas, and can convey the message with which the audience can more or less feel and understand, that is good enough.

How has the pandemic influenced you, and what do you make of the ideal future art-making and exhibitions?

The most inconvenient part is the physical relocation–we cannot return to China, and practically cannot go to any other place. I have profoundly realised the hopelessness and fragility of human beings.

Of course, it also enables me to think about alternative ways to present my art.

I think in the future, the online and offline exhibitions will occur simultaneously, and they will supplement each other, perhaps, the online exhibition will become an independent way of exhibiting. Due to the changes in exhibition methods, art-making will adapt accordingly. There will be artists who would like to explore how to suitably express and present art exclusively online.