statement
Currently, my focus is on the intricacies of my everyday life, drawing inspiration from my daily activities and the relationships I cultivate within my community. Immersed in two distinct cultures, I've gained diverse perspectives on the concept of "home" and what lies beyond its confines. The Asian diaspora, for me and many around me, is a nuanced environment where I find solace—a home that I am actively learning to construct.
"Home" transcends the physical space I inhabit; it extends to my cultural roots and origins. Chinese traditions and perspectives are deeply interwoven into my daily existence, manifesting in items like teapots, small Buddha figurines, and ink stones. However, my artistic journey, shaped by learning and practicing oil painting in North America, has illuminated the expressions needed to decipher the lifestyles within the Asian diaspora.
I often immerse myself in nature—surrounded by animals, engaged in equestrian pursuits, exploring bodies of water through free diving, or tending to weeds at a Buddhist temple, observing the Earth up close. These experiences create an almost dream-like connection to my hometown in Yunnan, China, where I was once surrounded by pigs, chickens, peacocks, owls, dogs, cats, and more. Incorporating these elements into my artwork, I aim to reflect the parallels between the two concepts of "home." Utilizing a surreal collage method, I paint a utopian representation of the home I am endeavouring to build in my artistic realm.
Exploring Buddha's philosophy over the past year has captivated me with the 'go with the flow' ethos. As quoted from the Met Museum, "And it is their own karma—the sum total of deeds, good and bad—that determines the circumstances of a future birth." This philosophy has led me to recognize that eagerly desiring certain things mentally causes suffering. Consequently, forcing anything should no longer be a part of my artistic practice.
Like how Dante Alighieri crafted the divine comedy of his era using contemporaneous stories, my artistic reservoir draws from modern everyday life and contemporary narratives, incorporating symbols, equations, language writings, and ancient literal paintings.
I employ various fine art mediums, including inks, charcoals, oils, acrylic gels, and found objects, to bring my creative visions to life.
My art integrates contemporary culture with influences from tradition and diverse historical backgrounds. I have reimagined the presentation of Oriental literati scroll paintings, meticulously adapting them onto expansive canvases to enable the audience to immerse themselves in the metaphors and "Qi" encapsulated within the artwork. The diverse and multidimensional education I have received has significantly elevated my creativity and expressiveness within the realm of contemporary painting. In the ever-evolving landscape of artistic creation, my paintings reintroduce familiar elements to the audience, presenting them in a novel and otherworldly form. This approach encourages viewers to transcend their conventional artistic perceptions, fostering a diaspora-like familiarity and aiming to cultivate a new and surreal artistic conception.
As a daughter of Chinese immigrants, I weave the tapestry of my existence through the threads of objects and occurrences that evoke echoes of my heritage. In this intricate dance, I delicately piece together fragments of my childhood memories – the flavors of nostalgic meals, the hues of the native soil, and the rhythmic heartbeat of folk dances that echo from the very land of my birth. In each subtle detail, I find the poetic whispers that anchor my soul in the tapestry of my ancestral story.
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xin wen 2024, FEB
目前，我的焦点在于我日常生活的复杂性，从中汲取灵感，包括我的日常活动和我在社区中培养的关系。沉浸在两种不同的文化中，我获得了多元的对于“家”的概念以及其边界之外的视角。对于我和周围许多人来说，亚洲散居是一个微妙的环境，我在这里找到慰藉——这是一个我正在积极学习构建的家。
“家”不仅仅限于我居住的物理空间；它延伸到我的文化根源和起源。中国的传统和观念深深地融入到我的日常生活中，体现在茶壶、小佛像和砚台等物品中。然而，通过在北美学习和实践油画，我的艺术之旅照亮了理解亚洲散居生活方式所需的表达方式。
我经常沉浸在大自然中——被动物包围，从事马术活动，通过自由潜水探索水域，或者在佛寺中除草，近距离观察大地。这些经历几乎在我和中国云南家乡之间建立了一种梦幻般的联系，那里我曾被猪、鸡、孔雀、猫猫狗狗等包围。将这些元素融入我的艺术作品中，我旨在反映两个“家”概念之间的相似之处。通过采用超现实的拼贴方法，我描绘了我在艺术领域努力建设的乌托邦式家园。
在过去的一年里，探索佛陀的哲学深深吸引了我，尤其是“随波逐流”的理念。引用大都会博物馆的话：“而他们自己的业力——善恶行为的总和——决定了未来出生的境况。” 这一哲学使我自动地感觉到渴望某些事物会在心理上让我受苦。因此，强迫任何事物不应再成为我的艺术实践的一部分。
类似于但丁·阿利吉埃里使用当时众所周知的故事创作了他时代的神圣喜剧，我的艺术灵感来自于现代日常生活和当代故事，融入符号、方程式、语言文字和古老的文字绘画。
我使用各种美术媒介，包括墨水、木炭、油画、丙烯胶和现成物品等，将我的创意愿景呈现出来。
我的艺术融合了当代文化，传统、历史多元的影响。我重新构想了东方文人卷轴画的呈现方式，精心将它们调整到宽广的画布上，使观众能够沉浸在艺术品中蕴含的隐喻和“气”之中。我接受的多元化和多维的教育显著提升了我在当代绘画领域的创造力和表现力。
在不断变化的艺术创作领域，我的画作将熟悉的元素重新呈现给观众，以新颖和超凡脱俗的形式展示。这种方式鼓励观众超越他们常规的艺术观念，培养一种类似散居的熟悉感，旨在营造一种新的超现实艺术构思。
作为一位华裔移民之女，我透过那些唤起我传承的物品和事件的线索，编织着我存在的抽象画卷。在这复杂的舞蹈中，我精致地拼凑着我童年记忆的碎片——怀旧餐食的滋味、故土的色彩、以及从我出生的土地回响而来的民间舞蹈的韵律。在每一个微妙的细节中，我发现了那些在我祖先故事的画卷中，将我的灵魂锚定的诗意耳语。
引用:
维迪亚·德赫加
哥伦比亚大学艺术史与考古学系
2007年2月
Citation:
Vidya Dehejia
Department of Art History and Archaeology, Columbia University
February 2007