Wu Liang Yan

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Biography

The red tie is part of every Chinese student’s uniform. To Wu and many young artists growing up under the Communist regime, this also represents the expectation to be acknowledged of the youths. Constantly looking upwards with a beaming smile, the figure in Wu’s sculpture reflects of an insatiable desire for affirmation from authority figures.

Employing the techniques of exaggeration and satire, Wu seeks to bring out social problems that stem from the overly competitive societies that arise in today’s world. The chubby cheeks of the boy in Wu’s subject matter are symbolic of the over-inflated desires that youths today carry within themselves. The head of the boy is disproportionally large as compared to the rest of his body, reflecting of the emotional and physical burdens which youths today carry as a result of striving for what society purports him or her to achieve. Such burdens are disproportionate to what a child of his age is expected to bear. This form of exaggeration also signifies the distortion of people’s expectations – of what they want and what they can physically achieve, resulting in a continual state of confusion and insecurity. A star is placed underneath each sculpture, rendering the overall composition of the boy to be that of a trophy prize that perhaps a parent can bring home and display to others.

Nonetheless, with closed eyes and a slight smile, Wu’s subject matter seemingly revels in the environment he is in. He is an achiever and a model youth that his country and parents expect him to be. Yet, his face also shows a glint of idealism, of the desire to achieve what he personally wants against all odds.

With the red tie and huge heads as the main symbols undergirding each sculpture, Wu carefully crafts the story of youths growing up in such a precarious era. Today, his critically acclaimed sculptures have been exhibited in both group and solo exhibitions in Xiamen, Beijing and France.

Articles

Upwards --- Inflated Thoughts

We are growing up in a time of inflated desires, and we are surviving, thinking and changing under the pressure of desires. Over-inflated desires are making the growing young generation too precocious. Children are injected with the competitive mind too early. Under the supervision of grown-ups who tend to compare blindly with each other, children just pursue to go upwards. Meanwhile, they are shouldering huge physical and emotional burden.

Childhood memories are meant to be the purest memories of a person. However, shaped by Wu Liangyan, we see one innocent face after another, one exaggerated misshaped huge head after another, and we see the ridiculous and weird childhood, the twisted and stressful childhood. Exaggeration is the art form Wu Liangyan likes to use. Red tie and huge head are personal symbols of Wu Liangyan. Combining the two simple elements delicately is the reflection of Wu Liangyan’s mature and deep observation towards art, life and society.

To young artists born after the 80s and growing up under the red flag, the symbolization of the red tie is known to all. It represents the expectation to be acknowledged. Exaggeration is one of the common skills used in contemporary sculpture, yet the differences in exaggeration show the characteristics of artists. Among many of Wu Liangyan’s sculptures, no matter Singing for the Motherland Series, Book & Burden Series, or The Applauding Series, people’s heads and bodies are extremely un-proportional. He exaggerates people’s head to the extreme so that it reflects the distortion of people’s body and mind. Wu Liangyan is an artist of a strong mind. The exaggerated and distorted huge head he shapes not only is to reflect the distortion in body’s development, but more to show the confusion led by the inflated mind. The change in a person’s inner spirit is represented through the explicit inflated body.

During the completion of this art work, Wu Liangyan expresses his thinking towards the world, which was pressed in his heart. We could say that the exaggerated head is the best way to express many of Wu Liangyan’s indescribable thoughts. Zhao Xinrui wrote in 798.

Timeline

Exhibitions

2009	Solo exhibition: “Upwards”, Beijing798, China
	China Contemporary Art Exhibition: “Histoire Recente”, France
	China's driving force: The Yearbook of China International Sculpture Exhibition, Beijing, China
2008	China-Korea Arts Exchange Exhibition, Beijing, China
	“The survival of the scene” Contemporary Art Exhibition, Shangshang International Museum of Art, Beijing, China
	The 1st Songzhuang Youth Artists Exhibion, Beijing, China
	“Sculpture Party”: The 1st Songzhuang Sculpture Communication Exhibition, Beijing, China
	The Power of Life, Beijing, China
2007	Black International Documentary Art Exhibition, Beijing, China
	“Made in Songzhuang” ?, Beijing, China
2006	The 4th International World Chorus Festival v1Arts Exhibition, Xiamen, China
2005	Gulangyu Island Intenational Contemporary Carving Museum Works Exhibition, Xiamen, China
2004	The 8th International Character Carving Outdoor Exhibition, Xiamen, China
2003	The 1st Populture Contemporary Character Carving Art Inviting Exhibition of Fujian Province, Quanzhou, China
2001	The 1st Character Carving Art Exhibition, Xiamen