How different history shapes the social culture and lifestyles intriguer me. In 2018, I was invited by a college friend to travel to Colombia. On the journey, I visited the capital Bogota and learned about the local golden totem and religious worship. Through Fernando Botero’s paintings, I aware the society’s change in Colombian colonization period. In Havana area I visited the fort that Spanish colonizer built, as well as the church which commemorating black slaves. I learned more about Spanish colonial history. Then, I went to the Caribbean Islands, learned about the life of black people living in this area and their contemporary life. Finally, I went to Medellin, where I learned about the totems of the aborigines in the Amazon region and the customs of the tribes as well as contemporary urban life in Medellin.
One Hundred Years of Solitude series 2021
Mono Prints
26 x 18 cm
Inspired by Garcia's literature of magical realist style, I reproduced the distant colonization history by using representative elements from the local area.
One Hundred Years of Solitude series 2021 Etching
Gold leaf on paper
26 x 18 cm
The print in the above : Gold is a metaphor for Colombia‘s historical development. The print is a two-way abstraction metaphor; the gold foil looks like being buried in the soil, similar to how golden cultural relics are forgotten. The gold foil also seems to float to the water surface, representing the contemporary revival of traditional art.
Golden Mythology 2021
Oil painting, acrylic, pastel on canvas
Indigenous Colombians believe that the human spirit can be attached and temporarily transferred to other biological forms like birds, frogs, lizards, snakes, etc. With the transformation, we can experience different life forms and life perspectives. Therefore, a large number of animal totems and ornaments made of gold appeared. Their artistic attainments are not only exaggerated and graphic but also present high-quality and exquisite craftsmanship. What‘s more, it represents a kind of harmony in a specific primitive society, the symbiosis between man and nature, and the religious culture and spiritual culture in awe of nature.
Golden Mythology No.2 2021
Oil painting, pastel on canvas
120 x 100 cm
The demigod priest in the middle emphasizes the combination of human nature and divinity, which is also representative of nature, and humans‘ worship of the power of nature. I used abstract gold elements to manifest the weather and climate phenomenon and included comprehensive gold totems and animals to emphasize the importance of primitive worship on life.
Men Chewing Coca Leaf 2021
Oil painting, pastel on canvas
50 x 60 cm
In the picture, the characters chewing the Coca leaves are in a relaxing stage. I depicted the significant influence of drinks made from plants on nature worship in primitive tribes as the hallucinogenic effect helped people connect more intuitively with natural phenomena in their everyday lives. I used gouache to give a strong texture like traces of history to the images. The golden traditional totems symbolized tribal mythologies, helping people imagine their cozy nightlife.
Caribbean Fest / 2021
Oil painting, acrylic, pastel, oil stick on canvas
60 x 70 cm x 2
After the liberation of Colombia, the local black people gathered in the islands on the Caribbean coast and formed autonomy. Since then, local artworks have retained traditional African decorations and patterns while absorbing the vivid and dynamic colors of Spanish arts. Those paintings represented the contemporary black tribal culture and the life scenes of the region.
Pictures of Havana 2018
Photography
Digital
Pictures of Havana 2018
Photography
Digital
Havana Memory 2018
Oil Paint, acrylic, pastel on canvas
203 x 203 cm
This large-size work recreated my feelings of shock when I saw the Spanish forts at the scene. The Havana region was a significant stronghold for Spain to export Colombia's gold. Spain was the first to colonize Colombia, to prevent France and England from occupying this area, this giant fort was built. The sky in the background is an abstract representation of the Colombian national flag. The locals also enjoyed a coconut-lemon drink that was provided to Black slaves as a cheap medicine against sunstroke. Today, it’s a popular drink for locals and tourists. I condensed the Calpis lactic acid drink and mixed it with acrylic to paint the river of coconut-lemon juice. When the audiences approach the work, they can sense the smell.
Night View Medline 2021
Pearl, acrylic , Fabric
100 x 80 cm
The Medellin area is right next to the Amazon River with a large population of indigenous residents and many new immigrants. The area is densely populated. The terrain is a basin, so, watching the night scene of Medellin on the observation deck at a high place, I could see the lights like stars falling on the earth, forming a large uneven screen of beautiful starlight. I used velvet cloth as the night sky and pearls as the light to describe the brilliant night in Medellin abstractly. It is also a metaphor for the colonial history of the whole Colombian culture. Although past is dark, the national culture itself is as gorgeous as pearls.
Details of the work
Bloodline Bogota 2021
Oil painting, acrylic, pastel on canvas
75 x 75 cm
“Bloodline Bogota” is a portrait of my Colombian friend. It is a close-up of his wrist and bracelets. Those bracelets stands for different meaning: one is a Colombian flag, one represents his father‘s tribe, one represents his mother’s tribe, and the other represents himself. Tribal totems represent different tribes in Colombia and Colombian blood.
I used an abstract form to obscure traditional elements, and at the same time, this novel multi-media painting method also showed that my friend, a youth inheriting the contemporary Colombian culture.
New Flag Colombian 2021
Fabric
114 x 71 cm
Then from previous image and meaning, I made the nationalist Colombian flag. It represents the demographic change of new Colombia and the revival and transformation of new "tradition.”, and the inheritance of the new culture
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