信手拈来顾名思义就是随手拿来，出自宋•苏轼《次韵孔毅甫集古人句见赠》诗：“前身子美只君是，信手拈来俱天成。”它的近义词是顺手牵羊、唾手可得。正如我在作品中直接体现的主题一样，我挪用自身与他者的文化符号，利用不同时空的艺术语言，将看似没有联系的多种文化进行并置从而生成新的意义。不用我多加阐释，但凡具有基本教育背景的人都可以意会到我创作中所描述的事物。我在《信手拈来系列第13号作品》中描绘了代表中国传统儒家文化的孔子，手中拿着时下最流行的ipone站在柏林墙被推倒后的废墟上。我之所以选择孔子、ipone、柏林墙作为主要的艺术符号，无非是因为它们是传统文化、消费与流行文化、西方历史的着力代表物。三者的并置看似有点荒谬无稽，但试问大众认知的传统文化有多少已经沦为当下时尚的消遣？既定的历史有多少已被打扮成无稽的小丑？当然也有朋友看到我这幅作品就将其定义为中国传统文化走出国门，并在世界的历史中发挥作用。我不介意观者究竟怎样定义我的作品，重要的是我要大家清楚的感觉到我在文化上的跨界尝试。在另一幅《信手拈来系列第14号作品》中，中国民间传说中能打鬼驱除邪祟的钟馗驾临在代表高新科技前沿的航空母舰之上。有着中国传统水墨笔趣的秃鹰耸立在那北纬38度线之上。我将中国与非中国的、传统与当代的文化、历史、政治有机的并置在一起组成我创作的基本元素，并运用中国传统的写意语言与西方古典的写实语言作为画面表达的基本技法。从而使画面具有虚实相生的视觉效果，穿越式的视觉感官可以更加充分的诠释我的创作意图。
Pick at Random, as the phrase suggests, means to take something casually at hand. It originates from a poem by Su Shi of the Song dynasty, In Response to Kong Yifu’s Collection of Ancient Lines: “In a former life you must have been Zimei himself; whatever you pick up at random comes out perfectly formed.” Its near-synonyms include expressions such as “taking advantage of an opportunity” or “within easy reach.” As directly reflected in the themes of my work, I appropriate cultural symbols drawn from both myself and others, employing artistic languages from different times and spaces to juxtapose multiple cultures that may appear unrelated, thereby generating new meanings. Without the need for extensive explanation, anyone with a basic educational background can intuitively grasp what my work seeks to convey. In Pick at Random, No. 13, I depict Confucius—an emblem of traditional Chinese Confucian culture—holding the currently most popular iPhone, standing amid the ruins left after the fall of the Berlin Wall. My choice of Confucius, the iPhone, and the Berlin Wall as primary artistic symbols stems simply from their representational force: they stand respectively for traditional culture, consumer and popular culture, and Western history. Their juxtaposition may seem absurd or incongruous, yet one must ask: how much of what is commonly understood as “traditional culture” has already been reduced to fashionable entertainment? How much of established history has been dressed up as farce? Of course, some viewers interpret this work as a statement about Chinese traditional culture stepping beyond national borders and playing a role in world history. I do not mind how viewers define my work; what matters is that they clearly sense my attempt at cultural boundary-crossing. In another work, Pick at Random, No. 14, Zhong Kui—the figure from Chinese folk legend who exorcises demons and wards off evil—descends upon an aircraft carrier, a symbol of the cutting edge of high technology. A vulture rendered with the brush spirit of traditional Chinese ink painting stands astride the 38th parallel north. I organically juxtapose Chinese and non-Chinese elements, the traditional and the contemporary, culture, history, and politics, forming the basic components of my practice. I employ Chinese freehand (xieyi) expression alongside Western classical realism as the fundamental pictorial techniques. Through this, the images generate a dynamic interplay between the real and the illusory, while a trans-temporal visual experience allows my artistic intentions to be articulated more fully.
Confucius Institute, oil on canvas, 150x150cm, 2012
在当代视觉艺术中，西方中心主义和不同文化之间的控制与融合具有特别的复杂性。当代艺术创作的实质过程其实是建立在对美学认识基础上的个体性行为。而美学基础是一个有西方文化而来的输出品。虽然每个国家都具有自身的文化传统，但就东方的当代艺术而言，其种种概念与内涵都不完全是审美传统自然演变而来，其更多的是通过殖民主义从西方接受而来。这样的变革历史一方面是中国的当代艺术创作依赖于模仿西方中心，但也使得我们的文化挣脱了自我封闭的传统之中，自身传统与外来文化相互融合博弈。就像我在作品中将中国写意水墨与素描是写实的融合一样，这样的融合与博弈促进了中国传统创作理念跟上时代的发展，并随时调整自身的新状态。许多人提出，我们目前的传统文化是被西方教条后，并按照西方观点推进的。这样的文化殖民使得民族自身的艺术发展被他者化，艺术本身也变的多伪，具有极强的艺术形态化，并深受市场效应的摆布。所以好的艺术创作应该摆脱附加在艺术上不纯粹的东西，使艺术可以朝向自足的常态发展。但是，这并不意味着我们要回到西方经济全球化之前的艺术状态，而是要抓住自身文化精髓的前提下，认识到西方社会给第三世界带来的文化交流与新鲜血液。从而在多元格局中建造一种当代文化，这种文化可以在今天的现实社会中运行并受用。无论对东方还是西方，无论应对传统或者当下。
In contemporary visual art, Western-centrism and the dynamics of control and integration among different cultures present a particular complexity. The essential process of contemporary artistic creation is, in fact, an individual act grounded in an understanding of aesthetics. Yet this aesthetic foundation is largely an export derived from Western culture. Although every nation possesses its own cultural traditions, in the context of Eastern contemporary art many of its concepts and meanings are not the result of a natural evolution of indigenous aesthetic traditions; rather, they have been received from the West through the historical processes of colonialism. On the one hand, this history of transformation has led Chinese contemporary art to rely on the imitation of Western-centered models; on the other, it has enabled our culture to break free from self-enclosed traditions, allowing indigenous traditions and foreign cultures to interact, merge, and contend with one another. Much like my own practice of fusing Chinese freehand ink painting with Western realistic drawing, such processes of integration and negotiation have propelled traditional Chinese creative concepts to keep pace with the times, constantly adjusting and renewing themselves. Many have argued that what we now regard as “traditional culture” has already been filtered through Western doctrines and advanced according to Western perspectives. This form of cultural colonialism has othered the artistic development of a nation, rendering art itself increasingly artificial, excessively formalized, and deeply subject to market forces. Therefore, meaningful artistic creation should shed those impure elements imposed upon art, allowing it to develop toward a state of autonomy and normalcy. However, this does not imply a return to an artistic condition prior to Western economic globalization. Rather, it calls for a firm grasp of the essence of one’s own culture while recognizing the cultural exchange and fresh vitality that Western societies have brought to the so-called Third World. Only in this way can a contemporary culture be constructed within a pluralistic framework—one capable of operating effectively and meaningfully in today’s social reality, whether in relation to East or West, tradition or the present moment.
Zhong Kui Goes to Sea, oil on canvas, 150x150cm, 2012
我之所以将系列作品取名《信手拈来》，正是因为我创作的观念就是要在多元文化背景下做出跨文化实践。无论在画面的技法上，还是表达的形式上，抑或是绘画的主题元素与表达观念上，它可以是东方的也可以是非东方的；可以是当代的也可以是传统的；它可以是流行的也可以是通俗的；它可以是别人的也可以是自己的。问题的关键是审美认知的主体对它们具有怎样的认识与理解。在我看来，我们实在无须用一个文化模式掩盖另一个，一种形式代替另一种形式。多种文化的融合从外部看，可能是矛盾的，但从内部看，却是一个辩证性的表述。这一表述不会导致文化意义的丧失与混淆，相反会形成一个新的阐释与表达可能性。
The reason I titled this series Pick at Random lies precisely in my intention to carry out cross-cultural practice within a multicultural context. Whether in pictorial technique, modes of expression, or the thematic elements and conceptual concerns of the work, it may be Eastern or non-Eastern; contemporary or traditional; popular or vernacular; borrowed from others or drawn from myself. The crucial issue is how the subject of aesthetic perception understands and interprets these elements. In my view, there is no need to use one cultural model to obscure another, or to substitute one form for another. From the outside, the fusion of multiple cultures may appear contradictory; from within, however, it constitutes a dialectical articulation. Such an articulation does not result in the loss or confusion of cultural meaning. On the contrary, it generates new possibilities for interpretation and expression.