Wonderland
Travelling to the Wonderland, by Xu Bing
Installation for the John Madejski Garden - November 2013 to March 2014
Celebrated Chinese artist Xu Bing transformed the V&A’s John Madejski Garden with a new installation inspired by the classic Chinese fable Tao Hua Yuan (The Peach Blossom Spring). The V&A invited Xu Bing to create a major new work to coincide with the Museum’s exhibition, Masterpieces of Chinese Painting 700–1900 (26 October 2013 - 19 January 2014) which brought together the finest examples of Chinese painting to present an overview of one of the world’s greatest artistic traditions.
'…After a dozen steps, it opened into a flood of light. He saw before his eyes a wide, level valley, with houses and fields and farms. There were bamboos and mulberries; farmers were working and dogs and chickens were running about.' - translated by writer and linguist Lin Yutang (1895 - 1976).
This text is quoted from the Peach Blossom Spring, a classic Chinese fable written in 421AD. It describes the moment when a lost fisherman discovers a wonderland hidden behind a mountain where inhabitants live in harmony with nature.
Inspired by the story, Chinese artist Xu Bing transformed the John Madjeski Garden into an idealised landscape. Drawing elements from Chinese landscape scrolls, Xu Bing collected authentic stones from different places in China and made them into a layered mountainscape. He created a dream-like atmosphere with mist, light effects and sounds of birds and insects.
[V&A website]
Wonderland
Travelling to the Wonderland, by Xu Bing
Installation for the John Madejski Garden - November 2013 to March 2014
Celebrated Chinese artist Xu Bing transformed the V&A’s John Madejski Garden with a new installation inspired by the classic Chinese fable Tao Hua Yuan (The Peach Blossom Spring). The V&A invited Xu Bing to create a major new work to coincide with the Museum’s exhibition, Masterpieces of Chinese Painting 700–1900 (26 October 2013 - 19 January 2014) which brought together the finest examples of Chinese painting to present an overview of one of the world’s greatest artistic traditions.
'…After a dozen steps, it opened into a flood of light. He saw before his eyes a wide, level valley, with houses and fields and farms. There were bamboos and mulberries; farmers were working and dogs and chickens were running about.' - translated by writer and linguist Lin Yutang (1895 - 1976).
This text is quoted from the Peach Blossom Spring, a classic Chinese fable written in 421AD. It describes the moment when a lost fisherman discovers a wonderland hidden behind a mountain where inhabitants live in harmony with nature.
Inspired by the story, Chinese artist Xu Bing transformed the John Madjeski Garden into an idealised landscape. Drawing elements from Chinese landscape scrolls, Xu Bing collected authentic stones from different places in China and made them into a layered mountainscape. He created a dream-like atmosphere with mist, light effects and sounds of birds and insects.
[V&A website]