Ziqi Cheng
Contexts
The impact of Unit 1 teaching events on my research and the insights they provided
01
Lecture - Reflections on artistic creation
The first-semester lecture, "Lines of Empathy - a project by Giulia Ricci," was my first contact with a professional artist to present her work and experience at the start of my MA studies, and it inspired me to think about art. What struck me the most about Giulia's talk was her creative process and honesty, which made me wonder how she managed to arrange so many triangles. As I listened to Giulia's story, I became more aware of the emotion and power in her work. She has clearly discovered a suitable, workable, and personal mode of creation, and the repetition of movements makes her feel comfortable and happy. The repetition of triangles and movements transforms her process into a performing art in and of itself, demonstrating her passion and perseverance. Giulia's work is not haphazardly arranged, as in the series "Alteration/Deviation," where the slightest change in an apparently ordered triangle has a wide impact, making a seemingly flat piece three-dimensional and more spatial, revealing figurative structures in an otherwise abstract work. After all, the decoration she sees in her life, such as floors, carpets, walls, and tiles, has the greatest influence on her work.
This conversation got me thinking: if she found her triangle, have I found my own shape? I then realised that I had always used a circle in my work, and that the circle had always represented a combination of inspiration and strength in my mind. This was the first time I began to look at, observe, and examine my own work; I had never before looked at the basic elements and shapes contained in a work. So, in the first unit of the project "Shape of Pain," I used the "circle" as a starting point to develop and draw a mind map, and I discovered that from a circle, I could develop countless ideas.
This was the first time I became aware of the link between shape and creativity. At the same time, Giulia's experience made me reflect on the fact that I had not been paying attention to details in my life. Sometimes the development of art begins with a small point, something overlooked in daily life, and this is how art emerges from life. I also realised that I was missing a stage in my creative development, so I began to take a pen and a small notebook with me everywhere and record interesting people, things, and events in my life. Many of the things I recorded are unlikely to be used in my creative work, but they did help me think about things. My perspectives on "art creation" and "art and life" have gradually evolved, and this has resulted in a shift in my approach to creation.
02
Talk - Dimension and depth of art
Rudy Loewe's talk in the solo exhibition "Unattributable Briefs: Act One" got me thinking about the dimension of art making. Rudy's work is based on recently declassified records and documents from the National Archives to investigate the historical context of the colonial legacy. One part of the exhibition visit was reading a set of copies of documents from the archives, selecting a section that stood out to me, and drawing it for discussion. When I read a document about gays and lesbians banding together to fight for their rights and liberties, I felt a surge of "human power." In the struggle for one's rights, there is no identity; there are only "human beings," and we are all fighting as "human beings," which represents the spirit of human solidarity. At that point, I became interested in art and the humanities, and I began to consider the dimensions of art.
Art has evolved with history and society to the present day, and humanities and art have always influenced each other; certain events have sometimes contributed to art, and art has reflected reality. I also realised that the content of art can be developed from various dimensions, whether they are about religion, philosophy, history, or the humanities and society, and that these fields contain a vast system of theoretical knowledge that can develop and support the study of art. Recognizing the power and fascination of these fields, I began to consider the future direction of my work and how I might be able to use this knowledge of the humanities and social sciences to support my work.
During a visit to the National Gallery, I became interested in the stories in mediaeval religious paintings and wanted to investigate the relations between religious stories, folklore, and society, which meant I had to read a lot to theoretically support my artwork, and this idea has influenced the direction and development of my future work.
03
Workshop - Materials and forms of art
Many of the workshops I attended at Unit 1 prompted me to consider art materials and methods of creating and displaying them, so I've written about more than one workshop experience here. In the Historic Drawing Materials and Common/Everyday Objects workshop, I learned about the origins of traditional drawing materials like charcoal pencils and charcoal strips, as well as tried my hand at drawing on paper with materials like lime and metal, all of which have distinct forms of expression. One of the most fascinating things I discovered was the chemical reaction of materials such as iron sulfate to make ink.
I then went on to attend workshops in RISO printing, MONO printing, and Litho printing, where I used old traditional presses. These materials and printing methods reminded me of the appeal of working with traditional drawing materials. Most of my work is digital, but I believe that traditional drawing materials can add an unexpected dimension to my work, so I plan to return to drawing on paper in my future research and work to explore more possibilities of combining my work with drawing materials.
I learned several binding methods in the bookbinding workshop, and the idea of making a book-like form out of just one page opened my mind, and I began to consider the presentation of my work. If I wanted to try drawing on paper later, why not make a similar cut-out of the paper and display it as a booklet? You could also unfold it flat to make a full drawing. It's a very interesting form of display that could be used in future work.
To sum up, I benefited a lot from the teaching sessions of Unit 1, both in terms of lectures and workshops, and I think the most important of them was that they inspired me to think about art, including art itself, the dimension and depth of art's ideas, the materials of art, and the forms of artistic expression, and also brought about a shift in my thinking, making me shift my gaze to a broader humanistic field to explore and think about art.