Primordial World, Ceramics, Metal, Fog, Light, Projection, 715cmx715cmx80cm, 2020

(*The work lasts for 15 minutes, there is a 12-minute soothing off period, and a 3-minute climax period. Please take the time to watch it, thank you all.)

Matter has no head or tail, no beginning and no end. Life has not yet begun in the primordial world, and it is very likely that the spirit will still exist when life is gone.

All human civilizations in the world have their own creation theories. The Greek civilization, Egyptian civilization, Mesopotamia civilization, and Chinese civilization all have a complete understanding of the initial period of the world. They are the most important beginnings in the history of their respective civilizations and they are also integrated with their respective civilizations and cultural histories.

Primordial World, Ceramics, Metal, Fog, Light, Projection, 715cmx715cmx80cm, 2020

The universe is vast. In the universe of life on Earth that has existed for more than four billion years, although human civilization is short, it is also brilliant. Human beings are humble in  questioning, exploring and imagining the origins of the past, to build the footprints of human civilization step by step.

Primordial World, also known as "Hongmeng", is an important part of the theory of creation in the Chinese civilization system. There is a humanistic imagination of Chinese civilization about the origin of the world, and it is full of the poetry and wisdom of Eastern civilization.

In Chinese culture, it is described that before Pangu opened up the world, the world was a chaotic vitality. This natural vitality is called Hongmeng. It was this beginning that created the beginning of the history of Chinese civilization. In "Zhuangzi Zaiyou", it is said: "Clouds will travel eastward, passing the swaying branches and be suitable for the great enlightenment." In this origin, future life is conceived and the scenes of human civilization will be born a long time later.

My work "Primordial World" uses the construction principle of "Eight Steps of Yong" in Chinese characters to construct a structure that can be copied and reconstructed infinitely, echoing the principle of reconstruction and a combination of Chinese culture. This cultural principle can be seen in cultural carriers such as Chinese characters and Chinese brick-wood structures.

Each monomer of the "Primordial World" work is based on the structure of the "benzene ring" in modern medical protein research, which symbolizes the material quality of the origin of life, echoing the cultural study of "things".

There are clouds, light, and life pulses in the works.

There are also dark clouds.

The dark clouds seem to be very powerful, but there is light after all.

The light pierced the dark clouds lightly like a sword, and disappeared like a smoke. At this moment, the dark clouds are becoming more wretched because of the light. And the light does not increase or decrease, and will not become dim or bright because of anything.

Bright, neither humbling nor overbearing, from the era of Primordial World to today and to the future.

The light has always existed.

         —Zhi Min, Executive Deputy Dean and Doctoral Supervisor of Sculpture Institute of Chinese National Academy of Arts

*Zhi Min was in his studio in Songzhuang.

Zhi Min was born in 1975.

Executive Vice President, Professor and Doctoral Supervisor of the Sculpture Institute of the Chinese National Academy of Arts.

Member of the Creative Committee of the Chinese National Academy of Arts, Member of the Teaching Steering Committee of the Chinese National Academy of Arts.

He also works as the Executive Vice Chairman of the Sculpture Art Committee of the China Culture Promotion Association, Deputy Secretary-General and Member of the Ceramic Art Committee of the China Artists Association, Deputy Secretary-General and Member of the Art Committee of the National Urban Sculpture Construction Steering Committee, Council Member of the Beijing Artists Association, Member of the Sculpture Art Committee, Member of the International Association of Ceramics (IAC) of UNESCO, distinguished Professor and Postgraduate Tutor at the Hubei Institute of Fine Arts.

He serves as a member of the juries for the Art Design of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, the 13th National Fine Art Exhibition, the National Social Science Found of China, and the China National Arts Fund. He has presided over the completion of a number of national-level projects of the National Social Science Fund of China and the China National Arts Fund.

His works have won many national awards. The large-scale sculpture “Land Square" won the "2012 National Urban Sculpture Construction Excellence Award" by the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development; he presided over a number of large-scale national exhibitions hosted by the China Artists Association. He participated in international exhibitions such as "Qatar Biennale", "Sino-French Art Exhibition in France", "Italian Chinese Contemporary Art Exhibition". He also participated in various academic exhibitions more than 70 times. More than ten special lectures have been held in academic institutions such as Tsinghua University, Peking University, and Central Academy of Fine Arts.

He has held 9 solo exhibitions in important academic institutions such as the National Art Museum of China, Shanghai Art Museum, and Centre Culturel de Chine à Paris. His works are collected by the National Art Museum of China, Tsinghua University, Peking University, Shanghai Art Museum, Chinese Sculpture Museum, Ningbo Art Museum, UNESCO Headquarters, Rhode Island School of Design, and other important academic institutions. His publications include 7 monographs. He has published more than 100 articles and hosted columns in national Chinese academic journals and national academic journals of art.

Video, Image and Text Courtesy of the Artist.

Translated and Edited by Sue and Emily.