Rice paper 'Boat' by Zhu Jinshi at Pearl Lam Galleries.

An 18-metre 'Boat' made from bamboo, cotton and around 10,000 sheets of rice paper.!

'Boat' by Zhu Jinshi.
Images courtesy of Pearl Lam Galleries.

Pearl Lam Galleries announced today their collaboration with Hongkong Land to bring to Hong Kong for the first time a monumental 18-metre long, 7-metre high installation, 'Boat', by Zhu Jinshi, composed of bamboo, cotton and over 10,000 sheets of xuan (rice) paper.

Zhu Jinshi is one of China’s leading contemporary artists and xuan has been a major medium in his repertoire since 1988 when, working in Berlin, he produced A Cube of Xuan Paper, which will alson be exhibited by Pearl Lam Galleries at the same time in their March exhibition Perfection of Chance - a Yi Pai Exhibition at their Pedder Building space.

The sheer size and visual impact of 'Boat' is in stark contrast to the delicate nature of the material from which it is made, and the meditative process of working with xuan paper, is testament to his belief that it is only through the contact and dialogue with his chosen materials that he can express his perception and understanding of the world.

Primarily 'Boat' addresses the concept of time, both subjective time, and time in a cultural sense; Zhu Jinshi describes the function of the Boat: “Whereas time only moves forward, the Boat can be sailed in any direction. The Boat's cultural resonance is constructed of time itself, continuously ebbing and flowing through our imagination.” The Boat can thus be seen as a vessel for the cultural implications of its materials as well as for the artist’s own journey, and the viewer’s passage through space and time. The installation is representative of the art of ‘Yi Pai’, where the artist's fascination with time is transformed into a physical manifestation.

Pearl Lam said: “Zhu Jinshi’s xuan paper Boat is characteristic of the artist’s practice which deconstructs Western theories of art and visual language by rooting them to Chinese traditions and philosophy. The work’s many layers of cultural resonance embody Zhu’s own distinctive artistic career. I am delighted to be bringing a large scale installation work by the artist to Hong Kong for the first time.”

Exhibition Dates
9 March – 31 March, 2015
Daily, 9am– 7pm
The Rotunda, Exchange Square, Central, Hong Kong

Source: Pearl Lam Galleries