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1:54 Market Dancing Series — Xiaosheng Ma From Liuli China Museum
This series was inspired by the fantastical and mysterious beasts described in The Classic of Mountains and Seas (Shan Hai Jing). In this ancient text, these mythical beings are both embodiments of nature and the ultimate expressions of human imagination. The artist seeks to reinterpret these ancient images through the lens of contemporary art.
Choosing glass casting as the primary medium, its clarity and fragility, evanescence and luminosity, reflects the impermanent existence of all things. The creatures appear faintly, familiar yet elusive, as if wandering between reality and illusion. The glass’s hazy and fractured texture invites viewers to experience the dual sensations of disappearance and survival. This tension gives rise to deeper meditation: a quiet sorrow for humanity’s powerlessness in the face of nature’s decline, even amid the splendour and celebration of this flourishing age.
Artist Ma Xiaosheng masterfully harnesses the unique qualities of glass casting to create the presence of both weight and lightness. By reintroducing the magical animals from The Classic of Mountains and Seas, he breathes new life into antiquated cultural symbols and prompts viewers to reconsider humanity’s relationship with nature: Can we still hear the echoes of the ancient world? Amongst the brilliance of modern civilization, can we maintain a sense of reverence for the natural world?