If it is possible, I wish I wish my paintings could be clean and soft, and construct chaos with absolute order. My current works began with memories of regret, unfulfilled promises, and panic. I present a collection of paintings, prints, installations, and artist’s books that serve as building plans for an imagined amusement park. Hidden inside the work is a mixture of over-burnt memories and stories stolen from others. From imitating that ideal in my mind, I reconstruct and simulate a story that never happened by dismantling the elements that comprise the meaning of the park. They are the pages ripped from a diary. The images from my memory appear overexposed and spotty, as if scorching sunlight has bleached their surface, prolonging my search for clarity in recollection.
This way of creation is both my self-healing of regret and absence and my self-reflection after studying Baudrillard’s interpretation of symbolism and simulation and his art criticism. In constant practice and thought, I try to find some clues and echoes in aesthetics and philosophy. Besides painting, I also explore printmaking, installation, bookmaking and integrate them into amusement park series and exhibitions. Studio practice is the core of my creativity, while actively collaborating with artists in other fields, teaching assistantships, and being a monitor of the printmaking studio have provided me additional perspectives on my creation.
Tianxing Xu
2023
