Artist Statement:

In ancient Chinese society, inscription rubbing was a symbol of the elites’ culture and history standing  because  through such a reproduction method, the inscription and patterns on bronze vessels and brick reliefs can be accurately replicated, widely broadcast and closely studied by literati, scholars and officials for their spiritual pleasure. By using the method to replicate the body image of his family members, the artist removes the specific ownership of the elite class and encourages a re-contemplation of the value and definition of humanity, the clan and interpersonal relationships in general. By stacking the prints collectively as columns that far exceed normal human height; the artist infuses a sense of monumentality to the honest expression of the body print, creating a sense of reverence of the human form.The Talking Hair series is derived from the Body Inscription series. In this case, human hair becomes the subject of Wang Yi’s inscription, as he strives to express the poetic quality of the human body.

拓片一直有着极深的精英文化烙印，它能将青铜器、画像砖这些实体转换成具有艺术性和可读性的图像文本用以推广、研识和传播，但我们的先人却从没有拓过真人。《人拓柱》以我族人的身体作为拓印的对象，试图对这种传统艺术形式中的权利架构予以消解。我认为“家族”的概念在我们的传统文化和精神情感中占有很重要的位置；对宗族的崇拜，以血缘为纽带的人际概念对中国人的影响很深远，因此我想通过对族人身体的忠实拓印，借寓图腾柱的方式以一种仪式性的效果呈现出来， 家族的身体在某种程度上就是中国人的精神图腾。​《发语》系列作品由我的毕业创作《人拓柱》衍生而来。以人的头发作为拓印对象，意图展现我们身体上所蕴含着的诗意语言。​

Wang Yi

Translated by Tim Zheng