This spring, ELLE gathered for the first time more than a dozen female artists in the field of Chinese contemporary art to launch a group exhibition entitled "Soft", a "soft manifesto", works of art created with seemingly soft materials or forms, but in fact full of energy to respond to the present, and interpret the "new feminism" that ELLE wants to define.
In this issue, Wonder Women walks into the studios of three of these artists and engages them in a conversation about women's art.
Turtleneck sweaters and pleated skirts are DIOR
The Bauman Lando Nudo series
Necklace of green pansy marble set with diamonds
The Bauman Lando Nudo series
White topaz necklace with diamonds
All are Pomellato
Cai Ya Ling
ARTIST, WHO HAS WON THE LIQUE YOUTH ART AWARD, ART 8 CHINA YOUNG ARTIST AWARD, SAP ART AWARD EMERGING ARTIST OF THE YEAR, ETC., AND WAS SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2022 SOVEREIGN OUTSTANDING ASIAN ART AWARD. Her work documents the changing identity of women and a series of of of the most intimate and painful life experiences of women.
Art critics often say, "Cai Yaling's work is full of feminine brilliance", and the real she is not only one-sided sensibility in the eyes of the public. Beads, blue silk, candles, incense ash, Cai Yaling uses various "feminine elements" to tell deep topics one after another, bursting out a burst of inner cry.
She said that it is easy for an artist to complete a work that looks good, and more importantly, to be able to expand something more relevant with the times, so that the imperceptible emotions produce great power, and this shock does not come from the minimalist but pure classic, only by injecting vague and trivial feelings can it inspire a spiritual collision that is cut to the skin.
LONG DRESSES AND LONG MESH DRESSES ARE ALL RUOHAN
Cai Yaling, whether in her works or in the body, the big and the small accompany, the intellect and the emotion coexist.
Once upon a time, Cai Yaling hated herself as a woman. Growing up in an environment where men and women are equal, she never felt that she lost half a point to boys in any way. But after entering high school, the troubles of menstruation, the gaze of the opposite sex, the restrictions on school entrance examinations and other problems hit the rebellious adolescent girl, and since then, a neutral dress can not cover a sensitive heart.
"After giving birth, I really realized I was a woman. The expectations attached to the role, the changes in the body, and the traditional sense of self-discipline and censorship, the division that distinguishes artists according to gender, makes me abandon my previous dignity, which is very unpleasant. ”
Even in the face of a new round of strong awakening of gender consciousness, Cai Yaling did not indulge in public opinion and emotions themselves like most women, on the contrary, she chose to be a more real viewer, using her own distress and profound life experience to express her special feelings as a woman at the moment. "I prefer documentaries and realistic works to sweet love stories, so I should be the Shanxi women who will appear in Jia Zhangke's films - they are not very good at expressing feelings directly, and their personalities are a little dull, but they are more willing to believe in the character of certain heroic women, justice and integrity, and are willing to bear something."
This stoic and strong "chivalrous righteousness" resonated with the sense of responsibility for artistic creation given to her by her mentor, and the innate heavy feelings of East Asian women made her want to convey these "chivalrous" characteristics in her new creations.
"What I've been doing all these years is conveying the individual plight that a female artist from Shanxi, China, has seen in her life for decades. I hope that others can see some kind of inspiration behind my works, so as to re-understand the women around me, and if strange women can see the empathetic past or the pain of being ashamed to speak out from my works, it is also a self-inspiration and encouragement for me, and every time I think of this, I will have a sudden urge. ”
LONG DRESSES AND LONG MESH DRESSES ARE ALL RUOHAN
After experiencing doubt, confusion, struggle, and rebirth, she not only has a rock in her heart, but also has a soft state. "By chance, I fell in love with water. On the surface, it has a part of compromise and weakness, but more importantly, its indomitability and tolerance, winding to its end with a different kind of wisdom. Even after thousands of turns, I always run all the way towards my destination, which is probably what I think is soft. ”
Cai Yaling likes "My Genius Girlfriend" very much, because it abandons the flat and single female growth image in the traditional cognition, and fully shows the complexity of the problems encountered by women in the process of growth, especially how the heroine Lennon should take care of the embarrassment of writing after giving birth, and she also feels the same way.
"The opportunity to re-enter the campus to study for a PhD is too rare, but I can't completely put aside all the chores of my family. I need to dedicate 30% of my time to accompany my children, 30% to prepare exhibitions, and finally the remaining 40% to read a lot, think, write papers, every day I feel that there is not enough time, as long as the child calls 'Mommy' I will be disturbed. So I really envy the students who can devote three years to reading and writing without distraction. ”
Although I don't believe in the idea that family and career are not wrong, the identity of "mother" has opened a new door for Cai Yaling's world. Having been educated in "strong thinking" since she was a child, she once thought that she must be powerful to a certain level to have everything, and she must become the most perfect one to control her life. But after giving birth, she used the time she was turned away to re-examine the logic of how the world works.
Turtleneck sweaters and pleated skirts are DIOR
The Bauman Lando Nudo series
Necklace of green pansy marble set with diamonds
The Bauman Lando Nudo series
White topaz necklace with diamonds
All are Pomellato
"Everyone is no longer an individual, you seem to have more connections with the people around you, and many of your decision-making thoughts are closely related to them, and they will also shape your life." Many women may think that this process is easy to get lost, but the important thing is to keep yourself alert. You are brought into this world, naturally you can't escape the friction with some people and things, but you need to gradually realize who you are and what you are doing here through these collisions with the outside world, and once you understand this, you will maintain a business and role play that is disconnected from the world and do not need to devote yourself to too much relationship. Children bring attachment joy and trouble, but they are bound to leave, you or you. ”
If children are related works, then as a mother, Cai Yaling is also using a way to co-create with her mother to complete the echo of love. "I always remember my mother being strict with me, but I don't know what she went through and if she had the same problems as me now. It wasn't until we finished the work of sewing the hair together, that in a seemingly prosaic and repetitive act of craftsmanship, she and I told stories about my grandmother. During that time, I reacquainted myself with her imperfections as an independent individual woman and realized how I was deeply influenced by her. As a result, the hair becomes a spectator, and the process of communication between me and my mother is the real work itself. ”
"Material is the core of a sculptor's language" - Cai Yaling, who graduated from the sculpture department with a bachelor's degree, naturally has a special meaning for the choice of materials when creating art.
Shirt DIOR
Pants Brunello Cucinelli
The Bauman Lando Nudo series
White topaz diamond ring
All are Pomellato
"I've always thought that the relationship between the artist and the material is a bit like the relationship between you and Fa Xiao - you are familiar with his various behaviors, but one day you get to know him again through something, and you find that there is such a side in him, which deepens your connection. I also choose materials that are emotional things that I see in everyday life, such as hair, beads, wood, toilet paper, twigs, clothes, etc. But at the same time, I also hope that this material must be used by me, find an entry point for people to re-recognize it, and then continue to dig along this point. ”
"Sad Skin Bag"
Stools, toilet paper, water, glue
2016
In one of Cai Yaling's masterpieces, "Am I a good person? , she chose the carrier of the bead curtain, outlining Ruan Lingyu's silhouette vividly, swinging up and down, like a series of red, white and black waves across your body, gently telling you the faint sorrow of a generation of famous people.
"No Series: NO"
Crystal beads, stainless steel wire
9000x3500mm
2018
"At the beginning, I used bead curtains, firstly, to see the expression of beads to the figurative figures, and secondly, I felt that crystal curtains were like ordinary people's yearning for a better life and a brilliant stage, and the shiny decoration came with a certain local language. When making beads, you can't go back or know what she was thinking, you can only guess from photos or anecdotes. And every time you stir it, the pattern on it will dissipate, and this fluctuating momentary language can also bring a sense of fragmentation that belongs to the era or the hesitation of the characters. When you connect the whole huge image, the huge impact of the size and the feeling of passing through the heavy beads, every time it breaks, tears and heals itself, it will make the original work become another look, maybe doing it, it will become another work. ”
In addition to the use of materials, the truly moving works are inseparable from the choice of subject matter. Looking back at many of Cai Yaling's artistic creations, it is inseparable from the theme of "dialogue between different eras" – whether it is the integration of the traditional Chinese "Flood Map" into today's fashionable Lady Dior handbag design, or the second creation of old photos in "Me in 1987" and "Mother in 1987", Cai Yaling is always retelling fragments of history with her own understanding.
"Me in 1987"
Indeed, good cloth, my hair
1000x1000x70mm
2016
"Mom 1987"
Indeed, good cloth, mother's hair
1000x1000x70mm
2016
"I think that many video records of that era can teleport the current viewer in time and space, and those black and white photos and videos will break our current subconscious environment; At that time, people's mental state, body language and set style actually carried strong historical traces. In the past two years, Cai Yaling has been particularly interested in many black-and-white films before the founding of the People's Republic of China, and in the next few works, she will break the use of materials and forms that seem to have matured and perfected, and expand new creative methods.
"I am a person who has a strong feeling for classic memories, and I want to use these films as materials to use them in installations, break the boundaries of time and space, and have a dialogue and connection with the female figures of that time, their focus and appearance are history itself, and we can feel the thinking of women in society at that time."
Try to search for some still shining fragments from the large records of the past, and dig out those that have even been forgotten by the world. In the long river of art history, Cai Yaling is not a rower, but the flowing water itself, pushing every ordinary but not ordinary falling flower slowly flowing into the distance and reaching her own end.
Photo: Wu Ming
Styling: Dani
Makeup: YIN
Hairstyle: Yansong
INTERVIEWED/WRITTEN BY: EVRICKA
EDITED BY KIKO, SHERRY
WeChat design: Zhang Tiantian