In 2013 “ART FOR THE MASSES” invited contemporary Chinese artists Xiang Jing, Qu Guangci and Taiwanese performance artists Lin Hsiuwei and Wu Hsingkuo and to work together with the concept of “I” and “us.” Each group interprets the other’s works through body, video, and sculpture, while discussing creation and life. They also bring the viewers’ experiences into the process, asking them to face “I” with an artistic attitude.

In “I.Us”, Xiang Jing recreates her 2006 work “To Us”,She brings her “I” back to its origins and lets it grow up once again. The subjects of the new “To Us”are still women and the body, but they are presented on the macroscopic level. Qu Guangci began to offer a creative expression on personal aesthetics outside of dualism and political issues. That is an artist’s firsthand discovery in the process of artistic creation. He returns to “my” experience and feelings since they are the original impulse and the essence of creation. In “I.Us”, Qu’s tree branches and birds incorporated from “My Nature Tree” are molded with pure tin. In terms of seeking the essence of “I,” he chooses pure tin, known for its stability, as a symbol of his returning to simplicity.

As for Wu Hsingkuo and Lin Hsiuwei thought back to their performance “The Life of Mandala” from twenty years ago and decided to re-produce it in “I.Us”. Many years have passed since then. The couple once again tell their story about “us” through their bodies and thereby begin a conversation with Xiang Jing and Qu Guangci. At the end of the dance, Wu’s shoulders are propping Lin up. Together they walk toward the infinite, demonstrating the deepest and the most touching moment of “us.”

© MOT/ARTS