River of Destiny by Wang Xuehan

Collage Collection December 6 2024

Intro

“敲下这四个字的时候,我是忐忑的。“关于命运”压的让我难以呼吸,举步维艰。但命运不可逃避,甚至逃避也莫不是命运本身。无论如何挣扎,都在命运之中,只是想不想面对罢了。

我对命运的理解,与河流类似。个体生命就是一段支流,来的时候干干净净。走的途中,捡起一根根线,系在身上。像是河流中万千水流中的一股,万千汇聚在一起,滚滚向前。不会因为某一股而断流,也不会因为某一股而汹涌,都在裹杂之中,滚滚向前。“

"When I typed these words, I felt uneasy. The weight of 'fate' pressed on me, making it hard to breathe, hard to move forward. But fate is inescapable—indeed, even escaping it may itself be part of fate. No matter how fiercely you struggle, you remain within its bounds; the only question is whether or not you choose to face it.

To me, fate resembles a river. Each individual life is like a tributary—pure and clear at its source. As we flow onward, we gather threads and tie them to ourselves. Like one stream among thousands in the river, all eventually converge and surge forward together. No single stream can halt the current, nor can it cause the river to surge or swell. All are entwined, rolling onward in an unstoppable flow."

A painting depicting a large hand reaching down from the sky towards a person sleeping in bed, with a candle in the background.

命运长河(River of Destiny)

命运图例1(Legend of Destiny 1), 2024

Oil on canvas/carbon powder/copper foil/acrylic

120x120cm

Collage of black and white photographs and sketches featuring people, landscapes, urban scenes, and objects.
Collage of nine vintage black and white photographs and illustrations, featuring human figures, landscapes, and artistic scenes.

夜晚划船时间(Night Rowing Time), 2023

Brass sheet / Carbon powder Handmade collage

30x90cm

A mixed media artwork with a yellow and dark color palette showing various objects and figures, including two female busts, a large mug, a tree, a dolphin, a cityscape, and various abstract shapes and landscapes.
A surreal artwork featuring a woman sitting on the ground amidst oversized objects like a cup, a cloud, buildings, and a large container, with a city skyline in the background.
A graffiti artwork on a wall depicting a landscape with mountains, trees, and a large human face profile in the sky. In the foreground, a woman and a child sit on the ground, with the child playing with something. The scene is rendered in earthy tones with black outlines.

灵山(Lingshan), 2022

Stainless steel plate/carbon powder/copper foil/Handmade collage

30x90cm

A mural depicting the evolution of humans from walking on all fours to a modern person using a phone, with a mountain, a halo, and a door, alongside a table with plates and utensils.
Artwork depicting the evolution of humans from walking on a roller coaster to crawling and then into a tunnel, with a mountain and a golden ring in the background.
A surreal collage depicting a mountain with a golden halo, children playing near a door, a large tree, and a woman sitting at a table with a mountain and halo in the background.

灵山(Lingshan), 2022 Left Side Detials

蓬莱(Penglai), 2024

Teak board / carbon powder / carbonized white paper / acrylic Handmade photo collage

24x128cm

灵山(Lingshan), 2022 Right Side Details

A long horizontal artwork with a textured background depicting a landscape scene with rocks, a person seated on rocks, a group of colorful chairs, a black bird, a white boat, and a small red stamp in the bottom right corner.
A person sitting on rocks near a beach with stacked wood texture in the background.
Vintage wooden sign with a mountain landscape, featuring painted green and red chairs around a table, with torn paper and black appliances in the foreground.

蓬莱(Penglai), 2024 Left Side Details

A fish lying on a piece of paper or fabric on a wooden surface.

蓬莱(Penglai), 2024 Middle Details

蓬莱(Penglai), 2024 Right Side Details

金色野原|三联图 (Golden Wilderness|Triple Picture), 2024

Stainless steel plate/carbon powder/copper foil/acrylic Handmade collage

30x180cm

Mixed-media artwork featuring a large facial sculpture on the left, a door in the center, and various nature and people scenes, including two children, trees, and abstract elements, with a gold background.
Gray-scale photograph with a gold-painted sky and mountain background, featuring a person with a straw hat and floral shirt, two lion statues, a flamingo sign, a chair with an umbrella, and a table with an umbrella on the right.
Mixed media artwork showing abandoned chairs, a broken ladder, a tree, and an unfinished building, with a golden sky background.

Interpretation

Wangxuhan在这一期所展现的作品,都统一的展现了一个内核:瞬间之外的命运。

无论是从摄影穿插拼贴这种打破传统线性叙事的技法上还是思想内核性上都是如此。作品中可贵的一点是:利用了类似于立体主义的富有空间性的叙事方式,在影片中尝试多维度的呈现一个实体。在作品繁复的视觉符号之下的,一直都有着“永恒的”,遵循着某种形而上规则的命运系统。虽然观者似乎并没有在作品中直接窥见命运系统本身,但依然可以透过这几组作品的表象洞见到那永恒系统的一角。

当然,这一系列作品也具有人文价值,作者多次使用道教和命理学等具有东方地域色彩的观念和符号丰富作品的层次和架构。此外,从作者自己对于作品的描述来看,他对于超然的事物,规律,真理和命运等,有着深邃和敏锐的洞察。 

River of Destiny by Wang Xuhan in this feature of DART Magazine shared an idea of fate beyond the moment.

This idea manifests both in the technique — breaking traditional linear narrative through a combination of photography and collage — and in the conceptual core of the works. A key strength of this work is their use of a Cubist-like style of storytelling, creating a sense of space and exploring different dimensions of a single subject within the film. Beneath the complex visuals lies an eternal system of fate, guided by unseen metaphysical rules. While viewers may not directly see this system in the works, they can sense glimpses of it through the layers of meaning.

These works also carry cultural and human significance. The artist uses concepts and symbols from Taoism and Chinese metaphysics to add depth and structure, bringing in a strong Eastern perspective. From the artist’s explanations, it’s clear he has a sharp and thoughtful understanding of higher truths, patterns, and the idea of fate.

Credits

By

Wang Xuehan

Interpretation by

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