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Installation view of The Heaven of Nine Levels from Fukuoka Asian Art Museum, Japan

Wu Jian’an2008

CAFA Art Museum

CAFA Art Museum
Beijing, China

In The Heaven of Nine Levels, there are nine layers of animals: bird, human-faced bird, human-headed bird, winged human, human, tiger, frog, giant salamander and last is fish. The nine animals are arranged in sequence from sky to earth and then to water. The animals in The Heaven of Nine Levels feed off each other and are arranged in order of size, each one being enclosed by a larger one. They bite each other and yet surrounded by each other, the opponent never changes. On one level, when bird is bigger than fish, bird bites fish; on the outer level, when fish becomes bigger, fish bites bird. Thus The Heaven of Nine Levels represents a forever moving circular movement, each component going on to infinity.

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  • Title: Installation view of The Heaven of Nine Levels from Fukuoka Asian Art Museum, Japan
  • Creator: Wu Jian’an
  • Date Created: 2008
  • Location Created: Beijing
  • Physical Dimensions: 540 cm in height × 391 cm in wide x 23 cm in depth
  • Type: Contemporary art
  • Original Source: Courtesy the artist Wu Jian'an
  • Rights: Wu Jian’an
  • Medium: Carved ox-hide, ox-hide glue, pigments, mounted on LED lightbox
  • Art Genre: Contemporary art
CAFA Art Museum

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