Liu Xiaochun

　　Written for the Chinese Contemporary Ink 2013 New Dimension Invitational Exhibition

　　By

　　The concept of image reappropriation， as used in Pop Art， has little bearing on Nan Qi‘s works； his concepts and paintings are entirely original， and give a grand account of his artistic infatuation with the limitless depth of ink as a medium.  It may seem as if he has taken the idea of reappropriating famous images straight from a retrospective examination of Pop Art， but I find that his understanding of that artistic movement has had the effect of bringing him further into the future of contemporary art； after all， the pop artists took the idea of “ready-mades” from the Dadaist artist Marcel Duchamp， an entire generation earlier.

　　Nan Qi’s deep fascination with ink is what holds him apart from Pop Art.

　　On Contemporariness

　　Nan Qi‘s ink paintings truly entered the world of contemporary art in 2006.

　　The contemporariness of art is notoriously difficult to define - how does one define ’now-ness‘？  I can only differentiate through a discussion of the contemporary significance of Nan Qi’s art before and after his transformation into a contemporary artist.

　　i. To Be Pioneering

　　Art must constantly evaluate and reflect on itself in order to successfully break through the restrictions on creative practice.  The reason for Nan Qi‘s reflection has been his long engagement with the creation of modern Chinese ink paintings， and his breakthrough in bypassing the long-held commandment “thou shalt not replicate” has been due to his fearless， bold and undisguised reappropriation of images from the internet， movies， photographs， prints and other media； flying in the face of contempt and rejection， he has been uniquely unfettered in his desire to carve out a creative niche.  For this exhibition， he has created a new series of 3D ink landscapes.

　　ii. Creative Language

　　In order to describe and understand his pioneering and daring approach to image reappropriation， it was necessary to create a new artistic language.

　　Nan Qi took the lattice of pieces in a game of Go as inspiration for his “halo dot” technique， saw the potential for his signature “ink way” in blurry Photoshop images， his work with printing art catalogues led to his primary colour dot colour-blending images， and his daughters’ optical illusion games brought him to the creation of 3D ink art.

　　The depth of his artistic fascination as he introduced new elements into his work has given rise to an entirely new and unique artistic vocabulary for Chinese ink.

　　iii. Concerning Reality

　　Sociological shifts have been the primary driving force behind contemporary art （although not in all cases）.  Purely conceptual work has， in turn， produced a conceptual language that becomes increasingly detailed and， therefore， advancing complexity in concepts， language and reality have become the preferred area of exploration for a group of artists. With social realism， artists‘ personal representations of causes close to their hearts have continued to expand based on the ever-increasing concepts and languages of contemporary art.

　　Nan Qi’s concerns with reality were earlier manifested in his “Urban Tiger” series， his primary cause being the environment and the tiger‘s loss of habitat.  After 2006， he shifted his focus， bit by bit， towards representations of money and power， using symbols laden with meaning： the Socialist five-pointed star， the Chinese currency symbol， credit cards， and the character Nan from his name； he also focused on powerfully symbolic images such as People’s Liberation Army parades， female soldiers， shop-window mannequins， and traditional Chinese chess and Go game openings.

　　Nan Qi‘s current focus lies in one area： the direction and destination of China and the Far East.  He remains detached from criticism， praise， ridicule， irony and even apathy in his works， instead imbuing them with a sense of the magical.  His images create reality from the imaginary； by looking through his paintings， the combinations of shapes and colours that seemed confusing at first rearrange themselves to display the figure of a woman or an ancient coin； 3D images surface， turn and then are gone…the true cause behind these works is to cast a Zen spell over the viewer.

　　His infatuation with ink is embodied in the meditative process he goes through in forming his endless rows of “halo dots”， which come together to produce his eerily calm paintings.

　　On “Eerie 3D”

　　Nan Qi’s “Eerie 3D” works are his most recent and most controversial attempts to render his vision in ink， and make up a large portion of his contributions to this exhibition； therefore， I will spend the remainder of this article discussing “Eerie 3D”.

　　“Eerie 3D” was a concept that Nan Qi discussed with me from its inception， inspired by the digital world we live in and the online craze for optical illusions， there is no need for 3D or coloured glasses as viewers must focus their eyes until a kind of visual dislocation occurs and the image exhibits itself to full three-dimensional effect. This strange 3D was born out of an art world full of the strange， and Nan Qi‘s whimsical flight of fancy saw it rendered in ink.

　　Three-dimensional images need to be carefully designed.  Nan Qi is， after all， an artist and the graphic design requirements for “Eerie 3D” do not have much artistic merit； 3D design enables Nan Qi to realise his images about money and power， although his artistic talent lies in his ability to execute these designs in ink.  In other words， “it is not about the 3D， although it is in 3D” （the artist’s own words）， and ink is always the artistic concern closest to Nan Qi‘s heart as he strives to open up new avenues in contemporary ink painting.  For example， for this exhibition he has created a series of landscapes taken directly from the classical landscape imagery of Guilin depicted on the twenty yuan note， using 3D graphic design to disassemble the images and then restructure them in a complex pattern and， finally， using his signature “ink way” and “halo dots” to present the finished works.

　　Without the aid of colour-coded anaglyph glasses， seeing the highlights of the 3D image appear is like sleepwalking into the two-dimensional plane of the painting， and strangely eerie and uncanny.  The eeriness and strangeness start with the background colours of the painting receding， and the texture of the images before you become glassy and smooth， almost hypnotically mirror-like； five stars， the character Nan， currency symbols， and the Guilin landscape form layers that slide across one another until the “floating” images almost seem tangible， like the dagger before Macbeth.

　　The significance of Nan Qi’s 3D art is not in the works themselves， nor in the audience participation process.  It is not pure painting， but the artist， the artwork， and the viewer， taking part in a collective visual and psychological sleepwalk through conceptual art； it enters the field of social action， almost an installation.  These 3D works have generated a vast range of reactions， from “I can see it！” to “I can‘t see anything”， to a heated debate on whether they are worthy of discussion； arguments regarding the significance of 3D ink painting range from the dismissive to foot-stomping， high-fiving approval - all of them part of the unfolding process of artistic discussion.  Standing before Nan Qi’s works and watching the floating symbols of money and power as they appear and disappear produces a psychic shock， reality and imagination colliding to generate shockwaves.

　　In Nan Qi‘s “Eerie 3D”， discussion is part of the artistic process， as are the nuanced reactions to the work.  As the brush moves in the process of applying ink， so suggestions and observations move in the process of inking words about these ink paintings. The significance of “Eerie 3D” lies within the collective sleepwalking experience， between the “ink way” and “halo dots”， in the five-pointed star and camouflage patterns， among the dollar signs and Nan characters， inside the Guilin landscapes - hidden in plain sight.  Leaving the process behind， the work becomes encased in a shell， and a multifaceted pattern can be seen， repeating itself.

　　Whether one “believes” in “Eerie 3D” or not， once one has the knack of seeing these uncanny 3D images they become more real and more concrete than a photograph.  This oscillation between the real and the unreal I described as a sleepwalking sensation， indistinct and fragmented moments through which one finds truth hidden amongst dreams. Nan Qi’s “ink way”， “halo dots” and tri-colour dots， as well as his “Eerie 3D”， consistently and carefully hides meaning within a maze； truth and magic are both present in abundance - the power of the truth and the magic of money are also the power of money and the magic of the truth.  Truth， logic and magic can bridge the gap between daydreaming and brutal realism. Nan Qi‘s pursuit of art has brought him an abundance of new methods and ideas， as he continues his pursuit.

　　Nan Qi’s statement that “it is not about the 3D， although it is in 3D” is particularly important - without this attitude， he could have abandoned his higher calling to ink painting whilst giving chase to ever-weirder， ever more elaborate special effects.  Three-dimensional effects enhance his works， but he treats this as just another subject， as opposed to a well-honed technique； he appropriates images of women from the mass media， and in the same way he has appropriated 3D elements to complement the “ink way” and “halo dot” that constitute the true lifeblood of his work.

　　The explosion of images in the media make for an abundance of superficial art， fast-food art， which I reject - the most important thing for Chinese art is to bring the traditional ways of ink and paper to a new generation.  Nan Qi‘s unique ink painting techniques - the “ink way” and “halo dots” - are part of his personal interpretation of this art form， and they have also been his artistic salvation.

　　These two ink techniques are Nan Qi’s climb to communicate with the gods， with Heaven， and with the spirit of the universe.  Even with his 3D work， he is immersed in his brush and ink and the tranquility and calm of the “ink way”， each drop of ink in its rightful place and each sweep of the brush creating the perfect line； this is how he ventures into the territory of the greatest mysteries， this is how he cleanses his mind of the vulgar day-to-day impediments to clear， artistic perfection.

　　3D painting has not changed Nan Qi‘s fundamental ink painting process， the staggered fusion of soul， ink and paper； 3D is simply one extension of his artistic self， colours and shapes forming themselves under his brush.  In viewing and observing his 3D works， the audience inevitably and involuntarily participates in the movement of his brush and ink， knowing that they cannot retrace the path of his brush but appreciating the process behind each stroke， embracing the charm of his works.

　　Nan Qi’s fidelity to his brush and ink makes sense； having dabbled in the world of new media he has gained a higher understanding of how he can achieve clarity of mind through his painting. Reappropriating images and filling his works with references to everyday life allows him to reveal the truth through a meditative process. He paints money to show the insufficiency of money in reaching for happiness， he paints soldiers to demonstrate how brute force is not enough， and his paintings burst forth on the road to true inner peace by learning to reject the vulgarities of the material world.

　　The “ink way” and “halo dots” bring a metaphysical element to his works， and the “Eerie 3D” paintings inspire a Zen-like environment. Here， brush and ink are mother to the uncanny.  Metaphysically， reality and magic are hard to reconcile， except for in the dream state - and that is the intention.  Chuang Tzu dreamed that he was a butterfly， and awoke unable to tell if he was a butterfly dreaming of human life or a man dreaming of being a butterfly.

　　Sleepwalking and broken dreams are only an idea from my mind； sleepwalking through a paper pattern of dreams camouflaged in ink leaves me in the same state as Chuang Tzu.

　　The dream environment， in terms of Nan Qi， is a never-ending， constant process of elucidation and continuous improvement.  This process will only end with Nan Qi‘s last breath， the end of his life in making art.

　　November 26， 2012. Sanya

　　Liu Xiaochun

　　Contemporary Art Critic and Researcher at the Chinese Academy of Arts