Poet of Western Region 2016 - A

Poet of Western Region 2016 - A
142 x 142 cm
Acrylic on Canvas
2016

About "Poets of the Western Regions"

'Poets of the Western Regions' is another painting exploring the theme of poets after my previous work 'Poets of Blues'.
Western Regions refers to the Great Northwest of China astride the Silk Road in the Tang Dynasty. During my visit to the Gobi desert of Dunhuang in the spring of 2016, I read a vast amount of poetry written by Tang poets depicting the culture and customs of the Western Regions. Touched by the magically beautiful murals in the Mogao Caves and the Yulin caves, I started to imagine endlessly what the poets hoped to convey, which inspired me to paint 'Poets of the Western Regions'.
I tried to display poetry by building conversations between colors and lines. The poet in the painting is 'you and I', and the golden yellow color is the color of the desert in the twilight. As the night falls, the poet seems to be preparing for a dream journey, his/her poems dissolving in the color blocks and melting in the drawing lines.
With a joyful emotion, as well as a sentiment that is free and romantic, 'Poets of the Western Regions' is an ambiguous, veiled, but realistic poem written with colors and lines. By this work, I hope to express not only my respect towards the Tang poets but also how I connect with them from deep within.