With the end of “Spiritual Water 2” and "Castle beyond a Mountain”, we present the last of the trilogy painted by Chinese artist Sun Xun “Beyond-ism”. “Shui-mo” painting’s main motive is to highlight in its simple method the spectacular view of a landscape, and with the addition of digital technology, brings new meaning to traditional Chinese paintings.

The first two paintings shows the reproduction of traditional shui mo paintings with the addition of digital technology combined with traditional brush strokes presented in this metamorphosis of spectacle. Stepping into the last of the trilogy, we are introduced to a different method of digital ink painting. Using shui mo and digital animation technology together, the artist produced an art piece about China, Japan and culture, its own story. The work is an 8 minute 8 seconds digital shui mo animation, Sun Xun insist that all drawings are hand-drawn, the animation looks like it is stuck together with a glue stick, frame by frame, with a consistency of color which leaves us with a meaningful impression.

“Beyond-ism” is inspired when the artist was invited for an interview in Yokohama, Japan. The style and background of the painting reflects the landscape in Japan while the narrative is Sun Xun’s interpretation of his feelings. The essence of the painting brings us within the misty mirage conjured by the magician, using the world's most beautiful myth, creating the world’s most romantic ruins. In this illusion, he bring our thoughts to the most primitive basics; if we go back in time, where there is no cultural conflicts, and people are simple minded, how would we handle things in life? What would life be in the world of “Beyond-ism”? Sun raises many questions in his art piece and break through the boundaries of art form. His concept of turning any form of art into paintings, combining traditional shui mo and digital animation, using brush strokes and ink invited many questions from the public. The blend of the romantic ruins and the narrative breaks the digital animation techniques, reflecting the painting as a new media art piece.

As the final piece of the trilogy, “Beyond-ism” does not or will not come to an end. This brand new attitude towards traditional shui mo painting will thrive further and we look forward to it.