Tell us a little about your work?

There are a few works I would like to share with you all.

Air Memorial is a glass bubble containing air from Beijing during the height of the SARS epidemic in China. On the surface of the capsule is inscribed, “Beijing Air, April 29, 2003,” one of the days that the greatest number of SARS related death were reported in Beijing.

The Well of Truth was exhibited in Valencia, Spain in 2004. Xu Bing made use of the ground floor of the venue ''LaGallera'' - a 19th century arena built for cockfights which, after a period fell into disuse. The twelve arches that supported the upper floors and flanked the central lower space were blocked off with ''bricks'' of local newspapers, cutting off both physical and visual access to the inside. The public was forced to walk around the outside of the wall then go up to the second floor only from where they can contemplate the visual scene and spectacle happening inside of the well formed by piles and piles of newspapers. At the bottom of the well, in what was formerly the arena of the cockfights, Xu Bing placed a covering of natural grass where the skeletons of fowls lay scattered randomly. This piece exhibited in 2014 is rarely known but undoubtedly resonates with the current climate. It can be interpreted in multiple ways: the comparison between two perspectives (one “partial” perspective from the ground floor and the other “overlooking” perspective from the top floor); the human being’s feelings of confusion and blindness when faced with disasters; the longing for climbing high to get the access to the truth. The world is covered with swarm of news, true or fake. Messages are blocked while rumors are spread. As seen from this artwork: The NEWS is everywhere, but where is the TRUTH? This prophecy-like installation not only turns out to be a poetic metaphor but also an artistic expression of various topics such as human exploration, false judgments, limitation of vision and relative truth of history.

In this installation [Where Does the Dust Itself Collect?] Xu Bing uses dust that he collected from the streets of lower-Manhattan in the aftermath of September 11th. In the work, Xu Bing references the fine whitish-grey film that covered downtown New York in the weeks following 9/11, and recreates a field of dust across the gallery floor that is punctuated by the outline of a Zen Buddhist poem, revealed as if the letters have been removed from under the layer: “As there is nothing from the first, Where does the dust itself collect?” In the work Xu Bing discusses the relationship between the material world and the spiritual world, exploring the complicated circumstances created by different world perspectives. The dust was applied to the floor with a leaf blower and allowed 24 hours to settle. The work won the inaugural Artes Mundi Prize, the Wales International Visual Art Prize in 2004 and was later shown at various venues across the world.

I believe this work [Ghost Pounding the Wall] shows its particularity and predictability, and of course the significance of the meaning behind it. Since mankind has entered globalization, due to the pandemic, such attacks from natural creatures on humans, we must reflect on globalization, the Internet as well as the restrictions and smoothing of regional culture. It reveals not only the challenges and problems caused by natural creatures, but also the problems of the human survival against today’s global society, which intensified the tendency of nationalism, nationalism, and regional protectionism. Since the Qin Dynasty, the Chinese emperors had been building the Great Wall. As a large wall built to resist foreign invasion, the Great Wall is a symbol of China. Meanwhile, it separates itself from the outside world and ended up isolating itself. This paradox and embarrassment have made the reflection and understanding of the Great Wall always an entanglement. This entanglement is sufficient for human beings, present or future, to provide a reflective reference and has a special meaning. After entering the 21st century, human beings have to certain extent stepped backwards. For example, different religious beliefs, misunderstandings between races and cultures, and the escalation of contradictions between systems are very similar to rebuilding an invisible "wall" between the countries for mutual protection, defense, and partition. This tendency will be a greater disaster for humanity than the crisis and disaster of coronavirus.

What is inspiring you lately?

In fact, facing such a huge and abnormal disaster for all human beings, many artists will feel that art is powerless. There is no inspiration for my art creation at this moment, maybe because we are still too close to the turbulent reality. But I have more time to think about art, and I have some new ideas about what contemporary art truly is about.

What can art do? It basically can't do anything directly. But in some special circumstances, it can urge artists to reflect on what they are doing. If there is something called "contemporary art", it is like an "unknown virus" from outside of the body if we compare human body to our civilization, lurking inside the biological system, grabbing the blind spot of the existing system, and inject into such a mature and complete system something that was not available in the past; Its nature is unknown, its origin is unknown, and it has never been classified by knowledge. It forces existing systems to inject these ingredients to disrupt and regulate the order of the existing "body". Since the new balance is broken, it has to rely on social scientific researchers, art historians, theorists, etc., to find and analyze the clues of these things (artworks), and sort out new knowledge. While these "unknown viruses" are being studies and understood, they are degenerating into conventional viruses (influenza viruses) in order to adapt themselves to the environment; they mutate into long-term service viruses, and do the work of regulating the body at the right time for the system. All are "viruses", the difference is "unknown" or "regular". All their duties are ecologically necessary, and it is all up to the artist's own choice. What I am pursuing are those "mortal" problems, which belong to the category of "unknown viruses". But I also need to know how to leave them room for natural mutation into influenza viruses. A healthy body needs the attachment of some "bad" cells to cooperate with good cells to promote the growth of the body. Contemporary art can only be categorized as a group of "bad" cells. They act as a starting point for the progress of human civilization through a seemingly naughty way.

What type of advice would you offer young artists in the early stages of their careers?

Advice for young artists whose career is emerging. Well, it's hard to say there are good suggestions. Everyone who wants to become an artist is a unique case, which is determined by his or her talents, where he or she grows up, genes and personality. Don't take art itself, its style, or its genre too seriously. In my opinion, artists who only focus on artistic styles will not be particularly successful. Why? Some of the fresh blood of the art system must be there already. Something that is not must be outside this art system and in the lively social scene. Considering the fact that this kind of variation in the social scene is endless, and can add a lot of new ideological energy and creative motivation to artists’ creation. The supplementary ideological energy and ideological nourishment in the social scene are endless, and it is an intellectual thing with the knowledge of art history. The former is fresh and raises new questions, some of which are not covered by the sorted out.

What are you currently working on, have you been making work during the shelter in place?

There is no new works. Just continue to work for the previous projects through the Internet.

I came to the United States for an exhibition opening and ended up sheltering-in-place here. New York quickly became the epidemic center of the world. And Williamsburg, Brooklyn, where my studio/home is located at, inexplicably turns out to be one of the hardest hit areas in New York. During this special period, my daughter and niece who go to college shall be with their family. Naturally they both stay here after being quarantined for fourteen days. My daily task is to help my sister do housework, with mask and gloves on to deliver meals to the girls. 

As seriously as I used to make prints, I meticulously reject the virus from my territory. I feel lucky that there is a small backyard that allows me to breathe in the outdoors. There is a huge magnolia tree on the edge of the small courtyard, which seems to be more flourishing than in previous years (perhaps because I have never paid attention to it like this year). It seems to be laughing at human ignorance and embarrassment. Alas, it can only be said: Magnolia does not understand the taste of sadness. 

Do you think the pandemic will change your practice?  If so, how?

For sure, it must have influence on my practice. My attitude towards art creation is: art creation is the artist's sensitivity to issues of the times and social scenes he confronted, which leads to the transformation of the old art methodology.

about xu bing

Xu Bing was born in Chongqing, China, in 1955. He graduated from the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing in 1981 and became a teacher. He moved to the United States in 1990, and moved back to China in 2007. He currently lives and works in Beijing and New York. 

Xu Bing’s work has been shown at the Museum of Modern Art, New York; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Washington, D.C.; the British Museum, London; the Victoria and Albert Museum, London; Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Spain; National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa; National Gallery of Prague, Czech Republic; Museum Ludwig, Cologne; Museum MACAN, Jakarta, Indonesia. 

In 1999, Xu Bing was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship in recognition of his “capacity to contribute importantly to society, particularly in printmaking and calligraphy.” In 2015, he was awarded the 2014 Department of State-Medal of Arts for his efforts to promote cultural understanding through his artworks.