Wanxin Zhang
Statement
Since 1974, there have been four pits of warriors discovered and excavated in Xian, China. Through these excavations, a splendid ancient Chinese civilization was shown to the world. Even though the soldiers of the Qin Terra-cotta army have thousands of gestures and hundreds of poses, all of the soldiers are a part of the group belonging to the burial compound of Qin Shi Huang, who was the first emperor of China around two thousand years ago.
Pit #5’s sculptures are inspired by those warriors, with additions based on my imagination and creative artistic attitude consisting of a dialogue within myself, history, and today. These sculptures explore a new genre of terra-cotta figures, different from before by coming from a view of a contemporary artist’s consideration of human history and representation of a present culture. Under my hand, each figure is a re-built assembly of the characteristics of modern people. They are roaming among the past and the present. They are an individual group of people who have a dynamic form and romantic sense of humor, but also contain the mysterious enlightenment of eastern art. They’re crossing between traditional and contemporary world.
I melt my feelings and thoughts into the clay. Through expressions, forms, and compositions, I give to my pieces a new identity, thus giving them an inner vitality while reflecting their complicated emotional states. This is how I try to explain my feelings of the complexities and differences between cruelty and greatness throughout history.
Many years ago, I was standing in front of the Qin’s Terra-cotta army in the museum in Xian. As I faced thousands of armed soldiers underground, I was shocked. I silently asked myself: Who were they? Where did they come from? Why are they standing here? Even though many years had passed, the first impression I received of the pieces is still in my mind. I anticipate that my works of art can raise the same questions for the audience.