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2004.6.1
2004 - 2005
180 x 369 cm
Oil on canvas



Fang Lijun

Fang Lijun was born in Handan, China, in 1963. In 1989, he graduated from the Arts Institution in Beijing and since 2004 he works as a visiting professor at the Jilin School of Art, in the Department of Visual Art. Among his solo exhibitions are: “Fang Lijun: Gravures sur Bois” at the Galerie de France, Paris (2004); “Fang Lijun” at Prüss & Ochs Gallery, Berlin (2004); “Fang Lijun: Between Beijing and Dali. Woodcuts and Paintings, 1989 – 2002” at Ludwig Forum für Internationale Kunst, Aachen (2002); “Fang Lijun” at the Hanart TZ Gallery, Hongkong (2002); and “Fang Lijun” at the Soobin Art Gallery, Singapura (2000).

We are always sure when we decide to do something.
We are even sure when we change our decision and take a new one.
We are always sure.

In life, there are too much emotions and forces giving our desires no chances for survival. It is never certain what forces lie behind the forces that create our certainty.

What we know, there are strong drives controlling us as we define our goals.
The forces tell us the meaning of happiness.
The forces make us hunt for pleasure and happiness.
The forces drive us to work, leaving no time untouched.
What we feel then is emptiness.

When we feel unsure, a question emerges: whence comes the force behind those drives?
When we look behind, we ask again why we never stop and think about the drives that have controlled us.
What we feel is that we don't know the traces of our lives.

When we look at the new-borns, we realize they look the same.
They have the same expression, the same weight more or less, the same reactions toward things around them.
Their first words, “ma” and “pa,” are also alike.
Will they grow into similar people?
People are controlled by a force manifesting as strong drives.

I don't know whether this can happen, whether this will happen, and when. But why don't we choose to be different people, celebrating difference? At the end we will turn out to be diverse people.
(Jim Supangkat)

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