About the artwork
This charming sculpture depicts a couple and their sleeping cat, sitting on a blue rhinoceros. The expressions on the couple’s faces recalls the innocence of childhood and their intimacy is illustrated through their affectionately clasped hands. The motif of a couple is not unusual in Wu Qiong's works, and their relationship suggests one of assurance, love, and hope, as they take comfort in the knowledge that the other will always be present to support them through life’s obstacles. A tree whimsically grows from the rhinoceros’ tusk, with brilliant gold flowers blooming from the branches. The rhinoceros is one of the ‘Eight Precious Things’ in Chinese culture, symbolising happiness and protection against adversity, and thus the couple sitting on this majestic animal signifies the journey they are on together towards a joyful life filled with better things to come.
About the artist
Wu Qiong was born in Beijing, China in 1981. He graduated from the Beijing Shi Fan University in 2001 and Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in 2006. Both sculptor and painter, Wu creates art that represents the childhood that he and many others of his generation remembered and in doing so, creates touching and amusing portraits of childhood that are distinctly contemporary in the Chinese art scene. Acclaimed both internationally and locally, Wu Qiong has participated in various international art fairs, including Art Miami, Art Cologne and Bridge Art Fair.
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