Nine Branches Wen (Lines of Nine Branches), Shao Yinong, "The Section of Experimental Art at the 23th National Art Exhibition"

In traditional Chinese mathematic theories, the number 9 is considered the most prestigious as it symbolizes the infinite. Nine branches, therefore, mean countless branches. Classical Chinese literature has often referenced the nine-branch lamp, and there are nine-branch candleholders, made in clay, excavated from the Han Dynasty archaeological sites. In classical Chinese, the letter, wen, is the same character with wen, meaning patterns and icons.

This work represents the artist’s expression of traditional Chinese aesthetics within a context of contemporary art practice. The artist uses steel wires to imitate the twisted, intertwined tree branches. Hanging and balancing these steel “branches,” the artist creates an abstract, whimsical and mysterious form, which breaks the conventional spatial framework and stirs the motionless space, as moving through a fluid landscape. “Nine Branches Wen” can be viewed as a piece of calligraphy work full of inner energy and strength, brushed by the powerful steel, with its strokes bouncing between the mundane world and spiritual vacuum. Between nature and our mind, these intertwined wires lead a spiritual path to reach meditation of ancient sprits and contemporary sensitivity.