We had a chat with Wu Jiaru about her opinions on photography and traditional arts, how art influences her life, as well as her inspirations. Keep reading to find out more.
- How did you get interested in art and what are your inspirations?
My mother taught me to draw a mushroom and a cake on my 6th birthday. Probably that was the start. And then, I studied art and literature at university, where I received systemic art training. My inspirations are from experience, knowledge, and imagination.
- What do you want to influence and communicate as an artist?
Being an artist is not always about influence and communication for me. Most of the time, I can’t sleep, don’t know how to stop thinking; sometimes, I’m in pain for no reason and confused… Personally, art-making is a way to retore both internal and external order.
- What are you currently working on?
A series of new paintings and writings, and some trivial things in life, like how to deal with insomnia.
- What exhibitions/art pieces are you working on?
Some of my new pieces are currently showing at the Axel Vervoordt Gallery. It’s a group show called Residual Heat. The exhibition features seven Hong Kong artists from different generations.
Note – The exhibition date is from now until 28 August 2021.
- What do you want your audiences to experience?
The audience is seldom part of my concern in the art-making process.
- How do photography and traditional arts work together and influence each other?
From an anthropological point of view, art is transcendent and a journey of free will for a human being; photography is a great invention that changes how humans perceive the world revolutionarily, which I would say is the magic of technology. I assumed the traditional arts you are referring to are all kinds of art that existed before modern art. And they are not in conflict with photography. A more productive discussion under the context of contemporary art would begin with the question of art and technology. We are living in a transdisciplinary age.
WU Jiaru BIO:
WU Jiaru (b.1992) obtained her BA in Fine Arts and English Language from Tsinghua University in 2014, and her MFA from the School of Creative Media at City University of Hong Kong in 2017. Wu experiments with imagined spaces and social norms in forms of installation, moving images, sculpture, painting, image synthesis. Wu’s practice covers topics including literature, mythology, romantic relationships, technology and futurology, etc.
Image courtesy of Axel Vervoordt Gallery