Tai Chi-ing In The Living World

Singaporeans who enjoy spotting public art installed across the nation will readily tell us that their little red dot under the sun has in its possession 3 of Ju Ming’s highly prized and eminently collectable massive sculptures; namely 2 from his “Tai Chi” series and 1 from that on his “Living World”. While the last still sits on the grounds of the National Museum of Singapore, the other 2 have been removed from public view in the early 2000s.

Fortunately for us, iPRECIATION Singapore regularly exhibits artworks from both these ranges, from life-sized to miniature forms, as well as being innovative-ly constructed in a variety of materials – from stainless steel to bronze to wood and stone. Therefore, the divergent aesthetics of both comprehensive collections in the gallery are worthy of the Taiwanese artist’s distinguished reputation in the international art world.

They reflect the name Ju has made for himself with his early sculptures: viz. a more naturalistic approach that admirably achieves a well balanced style – ‘not too painstakingly detailed and not too boringly simplistic’.

This simplicity has frequently coupled indigenous subjects from the rural regions of Ju’s homeland with a more abstracted, modernist and formalist style; with his technique matured to such a stage that ‘it (is) no longer… visible – everything will appear as though it was created naturally, giving the work a feeling of transcendence’ in the most profound way.

That is most apparent in bronze works belonging to his “Tai Chi” series: crafted with an electrically heated copper wire saw that initially cuts the styrofoam to form, they are stylistically almost non-representational, but with characteristic balance, symmetry and grace, and with evidence of his’ creative hand almost entirely absent.

Their source of graceful evocative inspiration comes from the tai chi Ju practices to sharpen his physical and mental discipline. The controlled movements required by this ancient Chinese martial arts technique had helped him realize, early in his artistic career, the relationship the body has with the mind, and the source of strength that needs to be brought into harmony; encapsulating the philosophy of man in unison with the universe and the importance of erasing boundaries between self and the other.

Yet, the sculptures are ‘harmonious and alive, (with) the texture of each part… flow(ing) in a way that serves (their) inner energy and sense of motion… present(ing) an overall shape that possesses natural rhythm. This kind of vitality is transmitted when the inner qualities achieve outer effects’. Evidently, as he carries out the spiritual practice of making art, the appropriately imaginative vocabulary naturally bursts into bloom – that of the timeless tai chi concept of yin and yang and emotive continuity.

Impressively, the “Tai Chi” series distinctively becomes an inner exploration of his own unique inventive language while simultaneously preserving the values steeply inherent in traditional symbols of China within the new-fangled and abstract movement each sculpture fluidly displays.

In total contrast, the time Ju had spent in New York birthed his series on the “Living World”, after having gamely experimented with new materials of every form, including sponges, wood and rope. Inspired by the everyday life of New Yorkers, from the young to the elderly, at home and out at work or play, the life-sized painted wooden figures, effected by reconciling the traditional woodcarver’s technique with a more contemporary and abstract inclination, often appear emotionally detached from their surroundings, indifferent and withdrawn.

Later creations, in metal and glass, penetratingly focused on new groups of people, like those in the military service. Yet, in each instance, Ju further broadens the sensitive subject matter of human nature, in its dripping rich diversities; slyly satirizing the nonchalant, mundane lives of individuals forever trapped in a dubiously tainted society.

When Ju welds with a self-made machine of 150-ton power, the stainless steel becomes twisted into life-like shapes that effortlessly fit the persistent ideals of his imagined people; making the cool tranquil metal appear even more human: the consequential works of art have an endless energy and captivating dynamism hidden beneath the externally visible serenity.

His recent return to working with wood signals a gigantic leap from the first fruits plucked from his series of the “Living World”. It yields sculptures that are starkly white with a hint of black, to pare down form and movement while enhancing the material’s naturally luxuriant texture and flavour.

Ju believes that this new perspective best captures his awareness of social values and the nuances of urban life. The monochromatic colours, along with the coarse surfaces and rough inundations, impress with the simple notion that he has utilized mother earth as a vital constituent as man stays locked in an inner struggle with his self.

In all these cases in point, Ju succeeds in conveying his expressive concerns for mankind and their differing natures; all encapsulated within his inherited spirit of Confucianism and Daoism. With it, we can see his unwavering Chinese cultural disposition; conveyed in his signature modernist formal language, and the seamless continuity he achieves with each creative and stylistic change.

Be entranced by Ju’s hypnotically philosophical artistry at iPRECIATION Singapore, at 50 Cuscaden Road, HPL House, #01-01, Singapore 249724.

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