1963 Born in Handan, Hebei Province, China

　　1972-1980 Railroad School in Handan, Hebei Province, China

　　1980-1983 Ceramic Studies at the Light Industry College, Hebei, China

　　1989 Graduated in Printmaking at the Central Academy of

　　Fine Arts (CAFA) in Beijing, China

　　since 2000 Visits and sojourns in the Netherlands, Norway and the USA

　　Life and work is centered in Dali, China

　　BR: People have been familiar with your work in Germany for about ten years now. Although there are coherent themes in it, you have consistently created new paintings and series over the years. Your interest in water and air often finds humans placed in those elements. Is this a conscious strategy, if you will, that you follow in your paintings. Is it something you would like to develop in the future?

　　FLJ: I don't think I would call it a strategy. What I want to do is represent life through art.

　　BR: Is that all? Naturally, the paintings are there to look nice. But you put people in the air or in the water, or sleeping children in soap bubbles, for example. There must be something behind that. I can imagine that air holds a different meaning for people in China than in Europe. I guess people are always trying to find out what is behind your paintings. Sometimes they depict expansive landscapes with only one small figure in it, and sometimes you put people in the clouds and in the sky floating above the ground. Could you tell us more about these elements?

　　FLJ: These elements could be interpreted in different ways. Every human being, including artists, is always trying to identify himself or herself. But either physically speaking or spiritually speaking, one's identity is often molded by the forces or society. Physically, we don't have the option of choosing whether we want to be horn as human beings, or how we look in our own skin. Mentally, for example, a kid who grows up in a Palestinian family may naturally see Israel as an adversary, and vice versa. So people's attitudes are also influenced by their environments. I put people in places like the sky because they represent the real situation of humans living in various states of delusion. These images don't just represent me or Chinese people, but everybody around the world.

　　BR: Yes, that comes through Everyone in the paintings seems to be shrugging with hundreds of others. Looking at their faces, we try to figure out which one is mole appealing or interesting. People ale sometimes in a crowd or they are alone, but all of them seem to be fighting for survival. Even the little baby in the bubble is struggling. So all of your paintings depict survival situations. It looks very Chinese, but you are right, it belongs to all human beings.

　　FLJ: What I am interested in is using art to depict the various kinds of relationships between people. Traditionally, painters are interested in concrete scenes like twilight, the corner of a room, a portrait or a landscape. But in my opinion, for humans the most important thing is not the concrete surroundings but their abstract relationships with others. That tends to be the focus of my art.

　　BR: Your paintings also express another feeling, that of fear. At first glance the works appear very nice. Some of the people look comfortable, swimming in water for example, but then you have kids sleeping in a bubble surrounded by flies. I remember when I had young children I didn't like them to be touched by anyone, especially not by flies. But you put babies among flies, which is scary. You also create other images involving fear. So what is the meaning behind these?

　　FLJ: As I said, I’m interested in the real relationships humans have and their feelings in those relationships. Well, fear is one of those feelings. The butterflies and flowers represent beauty while in reality flies and insects represent things that terrify us. We can be good students or hard workers in order to make money and gain respect, but in the end we are consumed and influenced by all these matters and complex interactions.

　　BR: Very interesting. I have heard from biologists and physicists that ultimately insects will survive but not human beings. So what about the water? I understand it can represent freedom. But it's not always a peaceful place in your paintings. Sometimes it represents catastrophe or floods.

　　FLJ: Water in its different states relates directly to our lives indifferent situations.

　　BR: Let's talk a little about your career. You achieved fame very early on. Do you feel that art in China is changing nowadays, and what about life for Chinese artists?

　　FLJ: Changes ill the artistic environment for me mean about as much as a change of clothes. It seems we Chinese artists are often changing clothes, expressing different colors and styles, but our inner spirits stay the satire.

　　BR: In Europe, we are astonished by what's happening in China. Everything seems full on. Not only the economy is going strong, but Chinese contemporary art is also very popular among museums and collectors here, and works are fetching strikingly high prices at auction.

　　But I notice that these are only changes for a few artists. What is happening in general for other artists? Have there been improvements in the conditions for art and artists? Has it become easier to be a collector? Have relations with curators changed over the last ten to fifteen years?

　　FLJ: Yes, l think so. But I don't think it's possible really to generalize about the whole situation. Human nature doesn't change. We all dream of being unique and improving and maybe even being better than others.

　　BR: I have this feeling, though, that intellectual debates and competition among artists in China might be a bit fiercer than in Europe. You have to be successful on the open market by selling your paintings. Maybe some artists focus more on the art market than on the quality of the art they sell. The same happens in Germany. Young artists follow t heir own dreams and values at the beginning of careers. And if they achieve success at a young age, some of them just want to continue with what made them successful rather than looking for new directions and potentially risking theft fame.

　　I believe you are not self-restricted and you lend Io do what you want. But some Europeans think maybe young Chinese artists are trying hard to change the direction of the market. Do you feel it's a critical situation for Chinese art right now?

　　FLJ: Again, 1 can only talk about individual cases rather than the overall scene. Different people have different interests and concerns, including different interpretations of success. If an artist is concerned mostly about money, then of course he will play to the market. Some others insist on artistic explorations based on different values. So it's difficult to generalize about Chinese artists on a standpoint like that.

　　BR: I see in the corner there a painting probably from the West, and over there a landscape painting with one tiny figure that seems more Chinese. Obviously you have a vast array of influences and a lot of resources at your disposal. Can you name any particular artists that you consider your main influences or do you see yourself as totally free?

　　FLJ: We are lucky to live ill this era, where we have the option of freedom. Going back one hundred years, it wasn't possible for us Chinese to appreciate art from the West, nor was it really possible for outsiders to see and admire traditional Chinese art. I am open to accept all influences.

　　BR: OK, so you don't have any specific people from a certain country, in Europe for example, or a particular style, such as the traditional Chinese masters, that would be your favourites?

　　FLJ: Regarding the influence of Chinese art, which exists as naturally as the blood in my body, I don’t perceive it all that clearly, but it is my main source of artistic nourishment, so to speak. As for Western art, it almost always strikes me as alien, but there are of course many artists I admire like Van Gogh, Gauguin and many contemporary artists.

　　BR: In Europe, artists also have to study the history of art and know the different types of painting, from Velázquez to Van Gogh to Picasso. But they are not allowed to copy a painting of a master. In China the education system is different, and students are even encouraged to copy the masters.

　　The depictions of babies in your paintings remind me a little of Jorg Immendorff, who is famous for images of fat babies. Immendorff was a big fan of Mao. In his paintings, there is a close relationship between Mao, Buddhism and babies. Since Jorg Immendorff has often been exhibited in China, is he one of your influences?

　　FLJ: I am familiar with his work, but there are no direct connections between his art and mine.

　　BR: You produce a variety of art using different mediums like painting, wood carvings, sculpture, etc. Which mediums do you like the most? Is oil painting always your favorite format or would you like to be active in all fields?

　　FLJ: The medium is not the most important thing for me. I would like to express my freedom in different ways.

　　BR: Finally, a question about the future. If you had a wish or a dream for your art that you would like to bring to fruition, what would it be?

　　FLJ: Traditionally, in our culture the highest goal is the “harmony of people and nature”. I dream of achieving the same in my work, harmony of art and self.

　　BR: That is certainly a difficult task, right?

　　FLJ: Actually, I think it’s achievable. Different people are affected differently by different illnesses, for example. Art is the same. Although others could produce similar images and forms, or even copy my art, it remains totally specific to my personal spirit and thoughts.

　　BR: Well, that is also why we like you so much.

　　出处：《演变China's Revision》，2008年，P37—P39.