At 3:00 pm on November 6, 2014, contemporary artist Qiu Zhijie presented “A Suicidology of the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge - On Leveling All Things” at AMNUA, which is the 5th continuation following “A Suicidology of the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge – Zhuangzi’s Sedative” in 2008 and “A Suicidology of the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge” which was initially displayed at the project location in Nanjing.

At the press conference of the exhibition, Mr. Gao Shiming, Dean of SIMA, China Academy of Art, artist Mr. Qiu Zhijie, Li Xiaoshan, Director of Art Museum of Nanjing University of the Arts (AMNUA) respectively gave a brief speech. First of all, Gao Shiming said:“ On the occasion of celebrating Qiu Zhijie’s 45th birthday today, I sincerely congratulate him on the opening of his bamboo shop. Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge project officially started in 2008, the exhibition will continue into the foreseeable future. We are always moved by the on-site nature of the exhibition by Qiu Zhijie, the scale of the show is one of the largest, but it actually presents only one work, which is different from other contemporary art works because of special connotations besides bamboo which is considered as the medium, and subject of Zhuangzi’s On Leveling out All Things. Yangtze River Bridge is not only a building itself, but also a social symbol, marking the times, collective social avatar, and its meaning has penetrated people’s understanding of country and society. It is not simply a historical nostalgia, but uses his personal skill to single-handedly offer a spiritual healing. Suicide doesn’t refer to a fight but is self-contained, behind On Leveling All Things it is the power of concern, discovery and bearing.”

Then, the artist Qiu Zhijie used his own way to explain the theme of the program “On Leveling All Things by Qiu Zhijie”. He said:“ This exhibition showcases the works of bamboo from 2011 to 2014. I would like to use works of bamboo to cover the whole space, including the exquisite and finished works, the incomplete works, and even the“non work”. There isn’t any boundary between the works throughout the exhibition, while it is impossible to count and confirm the number of works. I want to confuse the identities of the elite artist and craftsmen. All things are equal in“on leveling all things”.

In the Q & A session with the media, part of the media asked Qiu Zhijie about “Meaning of Exotic Fruits and Vegetables”, “Status Quo of Anji Bamboo Workshop”, “Presentation of the Exhibition Theme from the Perspective of the Arrangement of the Exhibition”, etc., which had been answered and discussed by Qiu Zhijie. Famous contemporary artist Qiu Zhijie started to work on the social investment and art intervention of the suicidology of the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge for a long time since 2006, and his work “A Suicidology of the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge” project is called the most ambitious long-term art project in the Chinese art world in recent years, through the in-depth study of the totem-style building and its related events in new China’s political atlas, the artist comprehensively reflects on the complex relationships betweenthe revolution, nationalism, modernization road and individual fate, along with a lot of humbling art which is in full swing. Following “Warehouse of Thinking”, “Archives Hall”, “Crystals”and “Clinic”, the “On Leveling All Things” eliminates and integrates them into one, so it is a summary, and even asublimation rather than an end.

The exhibition is on display at Hall 3 in the Art Museum of Nanjing University of the Arts (AMNUA) from November 6 to November 26, 2014.

Qiu Zhijie Talks About On Leveling All Things

Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge project diverted my attention from suicidology. In the bridge, I first felt the futuristic and idealism utopian burn everyday life, the integrated collective willpower and coercion from the individuals left behind. However, I find that it is a boiling success and development in the hustle and bustle of the times that really forces a man to suicide rather than disease, the poverty from falling out of love, so that the expected Beijing exhibition points to the process of industrialization and modernization, pointing to a kind of fanaticism to construct huge monsters.

The cheap and plain bamboo once was the symbolic medium and spiritual model of ancient Chinese literati. Instead of the personification metaphors of “open-minded”, “faithful integrity”, “toughness”, I focus on another symbol with biological characteristics. It grows fast, its fecundity is strong, and its powerful underground rhizomes endlessly spread around, rushing out of the way, but nothing collapses. I do not believe in the immortal, but I believe in the infinite. No rest, no sighing, no interest, no collapsing, endlessly tossing.

About the exhibition

Organizer: Art Museum ofNanjing University of the Arts (AMNUA)

Curator: Li Xiaoshan

Director of Production: Wang Jin

Technologist: Huang Daqing

Persons in Charge: Lin Shuchuan, Lan Lan

Exhibition Team: Qu Jun, GaoYa, Xu Le

Duration: November 6 - November 26, 2014

Venue: Hall 3 at Art Museum of Nanjing University of the Arts (AMNUA)

Courtesy of the artist and the Art Museum of Nanjing University of the Arts, translated by Chen Peihua and edited by Sue/CAFA ART INFO.