Sculpting Violence. The Works of Liao Wen Exhibited in Venice

Human, animal, and plant bodies with alien features narrate the processes of violence and its ambiguities.

By Alberto Villa
On Artribune, 07/10/2024

Liao Wen's Exhibition in Venice
The sculptures by Liao Wen presented by Capsule are proof that one can speak of violence without sacrificing elegance and refinement. There is violence in the large sculpture that greets visitors on the main floor—a skeleton of a sea creature resembling a whale, suspended in mid-air, with its vertebrae numbered as if in a natural history museum. From animal to museum specimen, from living being to object of study and wonder, the whale here symbolizes human appropriation of more-than-human bodies. This dynamic is emphasized by the performance that activates the sculpture (shown in an accompanying video): the metaphorical death of the animal is ritualized, with its innards and heart (represented by fabric strips and a drum, respectively) removed for analysis.



Certainly more explicit, but no less captivating, is the violence depicted in the video Down the Eye of Polyphemos: the images flow from the Cyclops’ pupil (perhaps just pierced by Nobody, and thus fully aware of the violence), and we plunge into it like Alice down the rabbit hole. But the wonders we find at the bottom are far from those described by Lewis Carroll; instead, it is a series of scenes showing the penetration and violation of human, animal, and plant bodies.



The Ambivalent Violence in Liao Wen's Works

The violence that the Chinese artist stages is one that reveals its full ambiguity: it is both cultural and natural. Entering the next room, Liao Wen explains to me, "I had been wanting to create a sculptural emsemble for some time, but it was important to me that the bodies interact, that they intertwine." In the sculpture Tears of the Succubus, the two protagonists are not only entwined but also embody the primal dualism of eros and thanatos. The outcome of the mating of praying mantises is well known, and Liao Wen meticulously directs the climactic scene: the female holds the male with her abdomen while attacking his throat with her mandibles, unable to stop. Here, natural violence is instinct— a prison for the female just as much as for the male. Liao Wen seems to tell us that love (and any relationship) always contains a portion of aggression, of domination over oneself or the other. Tears of the Succubusis probably the most gruesome work in the exhibition, yet it is balanced by a delicate and surprising detail: seeds sprouting from the back of the female. The cannibalistic and violent act of the mantis becomes an existential paradigm of the coexistence of life and death, explaining the title of the entire exhibition: By devouring it, I learn about the world.



Liao Wen: Art is the Process

When the meaning of a work emerges not only from its perceptual qualities but also from its creative process and the medium used, it's always a good sign. It signals the artist's awareness of what they are doing and, above all, how they are doing it. "Most of my works are sculpted in wood," Liao Wen explains to me. "I could achieve similar results with other techniques (for example, casting with molds), but it wouldn't retain an important, manual, and physical part of the process." There is violence in sculpting too: the wood, once part of a living being, becomes a sacrificial body, a material to be carved, broken, smoothed, confronted, and killed once again. "This helps me reflect on my own violent and negative side," the artist says. Thus, the artistic process (at least as much as the final result) becomes a moment of reflection not only on the execution of the works but also on their meaning—on what they communicate and on who, through them, becomes the storyteller.

雕刻暴力：廖雯作品于威尼斯展出

人、动物和植物异化的躯体叙述着暴力的经过和其暧昧特质。

撰文：Alberto Villa

2024年10月7日


廖雯在威尼斯的展览

正在胶囊威尼斯展出的廖雯的雕塑证明了谈论暴力未必需要牺牲优雅与精致。进入展览主楼层，映入眼帘的是一件海洋生物骨架的雕塑，形似鲸鱼，悬浮于半空，椎骨上标有编号，仿佛是自然历史博物馆的标本。从动物到博物馆的标本，从鲜活的生命到研究与观赏的对象，这头鲸鱼象征着人类对超人类躯体的侵占。同一展厅中播放的基于雕塑的行为表演视频进一步强化了这种权力关系。动物的内脏和心脏（分别由布条和鼓代表）被取出以供研究，象征性的死亡在此成为仪式。


视频《坠入巨人之眼》描绘的暴力更加直白，但同样扣人心弦。画面从独眼巨人的瞳孔展开，这只眼或许刚刚被"无名之人"（Nobody）刺穿，对暴力记忆犹新。我们像爱丽丝掉进兔子洞般坠入其中，然而尽头的光景却与刘易斯·卡罗尔（Lewis Carroll）笔下的仙境大相径庭，我们看到的是一系列人、动物和植物躯体被穿透和侵犯的场景。


廖雯作品中的暧昧暴力

这位中国艺术家彻底揭示了暴力的模糊和暧昧：它既是文化的，也是自然的。走进下一间展厅时，廖雯告诉我：“我一直想做群像的雕塑，但对我来说，身体的互动与交缠是很重要的。”在雕塑《撒克巴斯的泪水》中，两个主角不仅相互缠绕，更体现了爱与死的原始二元对立。螳螂交媾的结局众所周知，廖雯精心策划了这一高潮场景：雌螳螂用腹部抓住雄螳螂，同时无法抑制地用颚攻击其喉咙。在这里，自然界的暴力是一种本能，是雄性的死牢，亦是雌性无法摆脱的枷锁。廖雯似乎在告诉我们，爱（亦或任何一种关系）总是或多或少地带有侵略性，附带着对自己或他人的支配。《撒克巴斯的泪水》或许是展览中最残酷的作品，与其平衡的是一个令人眼前一亮的纤巧细节——雌螳螂背部生长出的种子。螳螂的食人和暴力行为可以被理解为一种生死共存的存在主义范式，成为展览标题的有力注脚——我认识世界的方式是生吞。


廖雯：艺术即过程

当一件作品的意义不仅源自其感知特质，还来自其创作过程和所用媒介时，这总是一个好的征兆。这表明艺术家非常清楚自己在做什么，以及（最重要的）如何做。廖雯向我阐释：“我的大部分作品都是用木头雕刻的。其实用其他技术也可以达到类似的效果，比如铸模，但那样就失去了创作过程中至关重要的双手和身体参与的部分。”雕刻本身也有暴力的成分。木头曾经是生命，此刻成了被牺牲的躯体，被雕刻、破坏、打磨的材料，可以与其对峙，将其再次扼杀。“这让我反思自身的暴力和暗面”，艺术家这样说道。因此，创作过程与最终成果一样是对作品实现过程和意义的思考，思考它们所传达的内容，以及（通过它们）谁成为了叙述者。