Xueqing Zhu's solo project Pillow Talk was successfully concluded at the AURORA Museum of Art in Shanghai. The exhibition creates an intimate and solemn space in the old, ornate and bright building, like a screening room from the last century, speaking of the growth and drastic changes that the artist herself has experienced in recent years, and the murmuring echoes that are mapped onto the canvas.
Opening view of Pillow Talk, September 7, 2024 - October 8, 2024, Nan Ke Gallery, Shanghai © Courtesy Nan Ke Gallery Photo by Tiger Chen
/"Evidence from the Past"
Entering the gallery, before indulging in the large burgundy set, the pure white wall directly opposite offers a stark view of memory. Hanging on the wall are earlier works by Zhu Xueqing from her time studying and living in Venice, starting the exhibition from a retrospective point of view.
“The early works seem to be more 'unserious' rebellions, a kind of anger and escape based on hypotheses without actual experience. So texturally, all the emotions remain light and ultimately romantic.”
Installation view of Pillow Talk, September 7, 2024 - October 8, 2024, Aurora Museum, Shanghai © Courtesy Nan Ke Gallery
In the series 'Tender Flame: Five Chapters', Xueqing Zhu depicts the warmth of fire and the freedom that comes with the collapse of all shackles. Under the elegant glow of the fire, a rabbit escapes from a house on the verge of destruction, while a dried rose grows new shoots under the nourishment of the flames.
Nourished by the cozy waters of Venice, the works of this period present a strong and beautiful sense of fairy tale. The latent rebellion, ruthlessness and calmness do not grow too sharp at this time, but become a subtle sting of mischief with pungency. However, when the eye leaves this wall and begins to look around, the cold wind passes through the cracks of the destroyed house, bringing a deeper realization of the real world and the next growth that sprouts from it.
Xueqing Zhu
Tender Flame: Five Chapters, 2022
Oil on canvas
50h x 50w cm x 5pcs
© Courtesy of the artist
/"Well-balanced Wasteland"
On the side of the room, a long drape hangs 'Free Bird Trip,' a sequel to the escape from the burning house. “The balancing and moving forward in the painting gave me a feeling of bleakness, even sadness, an experience similar to exile. It is no longer a 'prank' as it was before, but a real and serious exodus.”
“Looking back after gaining further ground, the mindset I was in and the state of mind I was in when I created it will become clearer. Perhaps when I look back at this moment after reaching the next stage, I will have the same, more relaxed perspective. In my opinion, this idea is also consistent with the whole exhibition: just like a movie of life, the past footage is spreading forward one by one. Creation also follows the footsteps of life, constantly thinking forward and then overturning the past.”
Xueqing Zhu
Free Bird Trip, 2024
Oil on canvas
149h x 208w cm
© Courtesy of the artist
/"Sight Inside"
On the opposite side of the curtain is a wall of enlarged works that analyze in detail 'Chronic Injuries and Metaphors'. From there, Xueqing scrutinizes the self in a more unfettered dimension, and attempts to trace back to the age-old reasons for the self's constitution.
“This was the stage where I started to focus on myself. I may have looked at myself before, but then it was an experience of being ‘inside’. Now it's more like I'm looking at myself from the opposite side of the fence, observing my body and observing my injuries from a more mature and rational perspective.
Xueqing Zhu
Chronic Injuries and Metaphors, 2024
Oil on canvas
120h x 90w cm
© Courtesy of the artist
I think these past experiences, these chronic injuries will be digested one day. In this painting I use the crumbs of glass as a metaphor for it. They flow in through the esophagus, exist in the stomach, and then always continue to be digested as they accumulate over time.
Of the several small pieces hanging on the wallpaper, 'Vertically Down' retains some of the romance from the old days, and perhaps some Italian influences lurking in it, giving it a palatial look. The 'Starting Point' next to it depicts elongated hair - my usual element. This makes the two paintings together look like an allusion to a fairy tale, Rapunzel, again a narrative about rebellion, escape and confinement itself.”
Xueqing Zhu
Vertically Down, 2024
Oil on panel
30h x 40w cm
© Courtesy of the artist
Xueqing Zhu
Starting Point, 2024
Oil on canvas
40h x 30w cm
© Courtesy of the artist
/"Awakened"
As we walk towards the exit, we see two other creations by Xueqing, “experiments” with the usual elements. 'Hint: It's a teardrop' depicts the human eye in a surreal way and uses thin spider threads to mimic the shape of an eyelash. In this work, layers of dewdrops hang from the lower part of the spider's web as an analogy for the eye socket that receives the tears.
Next to it, 'Pink skirt in the room with less light' depicts a lonely inner monologue like a movie set. “I bought this dress in Italy, and I really liked its very life-like feel. And when I had to be in a gloomy room, I wore it in the hope that it would lift me up as well.” In the corner of the room rests a painting by her favorite artist, which, along with the hanging orchid that follows it, serves as a symbol for the imprint of sunlight that doesn't exist in reality.
Xueqing Zhu
Hint：It's a teardrop, 2024
Oil on canvas
130h x 160w cm
© Courtesy of the artist
Xueqing Zhu
Pink skirt in the room with less light, 2024
Oil on canves
130h x 170w cm
© Courtesy of the artist
While being in the hazy backlight, what Xueqing expects in her creation is not to sink and savor the grief too meticulously, but to tease the unhappiness she has experienced after dissecting herself calmly, as a fuel to run towards the light, or just to keep moving forward. Her state of mind and thinking also follow the broken continuous images, pursuing, questioning and reflecting in a state of stagnation, non-stopping.
Text by Roxane Fu
October 17, 2024
