Appearance of Crosses, 2007-10, Ding Yi, "The Section of Experimental Art at the 17th National Art Exhibition"

The artist has been exploring and experimenting the series of paintings, Appearance of Crosses, since 1986. The basic characteristics of this series are to use a cross as its basic unit of painting. As the title reveals, this cross as the basic unit comes from a term “Appearance of Crosses” used in the printing industry, which refers a cross mark used as a reference to color variations. It is a sign of accuracy and standard.
When he first began the Appearance of Crosses series, the artist has insisted on using drawing tools, not a painting brush, in order to “delete any traces of human hands to achieve an (objective) accuracy.” Appearance of Crosses, therefore, can be viewed as a symbol of modern industrial aesthetics, expressed through mechanic repetitions of human labor. In the late 1990s, the artist has shifted from tools back to painting brushes, focusing on repetitively painting the crosses on various materials by hand. In doing this, he has shifted the focus to using the cross as a visual icon, and he emphasizes the experiences of repetitive “writing” the icons and visualizing tactile experiences in the “writing” process. The artist’s increasing emphasis on the handmade process reveals his return to a painterly language that deconstructs the cross as a symbolic sign of industrialization, and his art has become an individual experiences and reflection on the rapid industrialization in China. Since 1997 until now, the artist paints the cross directly on many tartans. Incorporating tartan as a readymade material into his painting performance, the artist has completed a third turning in his artistic production, which separates these cross paintings from symbolic signs, icons, but materialized into the paintings themselves.
Therefore, the trajectory of the series of Appearance of Crosses through years is a representation of a history of one’s individual art within the context of transitions of social milieu.