Letter of Recommendation

One of the distinctive characteristics of Nanjing-based artists can be summarize as despite their impulsion for expression, they will have to depress themselves from time to time due to certain sense of restriction generated by the unique history of this ancient city. As a result, an obsession with melancholic personal feelings and a kind of laid-back casualness can often be perceived in them. To some extent, such quality can also be found in Bian Ka and his art. However, it is also apparent that he looks forward to a breakthrough. From his journey of artistic exploration we see possibilities in this young artist. The platform provided by Zendai offers him both an opportunity and a challenge. To him, what matters the most is to transform what he gains from his melancholy into some visual experience that can be shared. Something consistent about Bian Ka is still there in Panorama, the Last Ferry, including a sense of narration as well as an emotional record of life. According to him, "human beings, under many circumstances, seem quite insignificant."

Guan Ce

Panorama, the Last Ferry
Painting installation, 2010

In the middle of the Yangtze River in Nanjing city, there is a small island called Jiangxinzhou Island. Close to the urban area as it is, the island still features pastoral scenes due to inconvenient traffic. For quite many years, ferry remained as the only means to connect the island with downtown Nanjing. In a sense, ferry can be considered as a medium that integrates realities from two different worlds. As a new bridge is going to be open to traffic soon, the last ferry will fulfill its historic mission and no longer be in use.

Presented by: Zendai Art Bank
Artistic Director: Shen Qibin
Recommended by: Guan Ce
Project Manager: Zhang Aidong
Project Assistant: Wang Xueyun