I just reviewed the 7 letters I wrote to you before I write this letter.In my first letter,this project had not start,I said in exciting and fear that whether this project how complex and huge,but it’s about persons,it should not loss person’s temperature.After one year,now I finished most works in the village and 10 pieces art works.I don’t worry about I lost people’s temperature because more people and their stories were involved in the project.But I still ask myself the question in the first letter ,what is my harvest from this year?And if I find my life purpose and art direction?
Qiuzhuang’s winter was so cold because we have not any warm equipment even no burner in house.People get more cotton cloth for keep warm.I take on the cotton trousers my mother made and take on cotton gloves for against chilblain.It’s snowing after Chinese New Year,I expected it long time,the snow coved all garbages and chaos,the village became a fairy tale world.Freezing follow the snowing,unfortunately,chilblain came to my hands.
I finished Carl Andre’s Twenty-fifth steel Cardinal before Spring Festaval .I came to the steel market for the installation’s material in the town,I found so many steel pieces on the ground.I ask a worker cut a big steel piece into 25 small pieces,the boss and worker were wondered how I do this art work,I told them I just put them on the ground, it’s would be done. I planed put this installation in a siting room in a villager’s new house,but they always delay to decorate the house,so I had to put it in my courtyard.My father couldn’t understand why these steel cardinal is art,as it’s not beautiful and useful.Even now,my father and my mother still helped me to do this and worked hard. The ground is not smooth,they pave some sands under the steel pieces.My father found that it’s difference in every skin texture when he finished them,so he replaced them for a new sequence. After my recoded them,he put his birdcage out the room and placed them on the steel cardinals,25 birdcages on 25 steel cardinals.He start smoking and enjoyed his work.That time he was satisfied,smiled and asked me if it’s a art works? I said:yes,it’s installation art.
He found a new use that he explode firecracker on the steel cardinal,the sounds would more sonority,then it would have new skin texture on it’s surface. The steel cardinal was rusted after rains,it became red from gray,at last it became khaki.
Richard Long’s Wood Circle was arranged in the end of the project,no reasen,I just it’s difficult to do it.At First I selected a empty space for this works but the honer take a shed in there.So I had to found another place out of the village,but everywhere were crops and trees. Finally I found a empty place beside the river,as all the crops couldn’t alive in there.It’s complanate and wide.I think it’s good place for Richard Long. My aunt and my parents helped me to made Richard Long’s Wood Circle.We worked all afternoon to collected these brunches,it’s from three poplars and apple trees.We finished the Wood Circle the next morning.There were lot’s snows on the bank,the brunches on the snows,it’s will be on the ground when the snows melt away. The Wood Circle beside the village,it’s looked like a villager’s works and as a part of the village.But the circle is orderliness, the village is in disorder.We are worry about someone take them away to burn then as firewood,so I have to go to there to see if it’s good.I hope it would stay there across spring,summer,autumn and winter.
My Parents are very excited that we are finished all the works. They give me more selfless helps in the project all the year although they don’t understand my work and give me some disturbs.
We have 350 hours video tapes from the 13 months and we decid to edit them with diary style---one day is one chapter.The editor Na Yingyu have same viewpoint with me that we will display these people and these case in this year they came into our views from Zhong Ming’s video and my diary,it’s will appear one year time of the village.It’s not a breathtaking novel and lyric poem,it’s a prose.From this way,we can avoid to say a simple story,we can give everyone a chance to express themselves.They will not a simple “villager”,they are different persons with different individuality.
Before one year,my heart was full of fears when I came back to my gray-color village, I don’t know how to face the difficulty,I don’t know how to face people’s ignorant,selfish and greediness.There was a big bag on my back,it’s empty and I worried about nothing to into it;after one year,I stand on the village’s road,I looked at these colorful wall drawings and installations,I looked at these face I so familiar,I felt blankly and sad.Full of things in the bag on my back,it’s so heavy,but I don’t know where should I go. Suddenly,full of gratefulness in my heart,to the village,to the peoples whatever he was generous or selfish.
This year,I left Shanghai,I left these art lecture,opening and artist talking, but I still kept a good work status and built a relationship with a more wide art world.But when I finished this project I can’t figure out and I can’t see the future.I realize that my art life is a unknown for the future.7 years ago I left my teacher job because I couldn’t bore the life everything was known.But now I have some fears when I face to completely unknown.But,this is my selecting,this my artist career.
Davide told me that Qiuzhuang Project will participate in San Paolo Biennial you working on it,but I haven’t received official invitation.If it’s true,please give me more informations:what about the exhibition place?How about the fund supporting on our documentary film?what kind of the conditions in the exhibition for the project.I can’t confirm how to display them if I haven’t these informations.
Now I have left Qiuzhuang,A Library is ongoing and cared by Mr.Wei.The bridge had start to repairing,I guess the big road will start working after some days.Thus,our library have to move to another place or stop some days.I need to find a new place for continue it. I made a dream last night ---Mr.Wei sited on my electric bicycle,we turned to a bumpy country road from an asphalt road.The electric bicycle was low power,I rode it front so hard.
My mother said she full of fears when she looked back all this year,I know I taked more trubles to her.I realice that I must leave her and give her a period quite time.My father still wonder if I can sell this art project,I told him affirmative that it can sell out and it’s will very valuable.
