Embracing creative growth

"It was interesting to watch someone engaging in artistic creation," Lyu says, adding that she got to know more about the history of the village in which she has lived since getting married 18 years ago.

Lyu took on the role of a tour guide during the art event, and walked visitors through the inspirations for many of the artworks.

She is especially at home with the work Stardust in Evolution: Memory of Shiziyuan Village by Xiang, who graduated from the Academy of Arts and Design at Tsinghua University in the early '90s and has exhibited works at the National Art Museum of China in Beijing, the Museum of Art and Design in New York and the Painted Bride Art Center and Art Alliance in Philadelphia.

Xiang produced his artistic creations on the wall joining two abandoned houses in the village.

"He's very patient in explaining his intentions and the background of his work," Lyu says.

On the wall, Xiang portrayed the history of Jingdezhen and local ceramic production, as well as the village, through images he collected from both past and present. He highlighted figures from those images and engraved their silhouettes into the walls of the house. The scraps of paint that peeled off are collected in a small transparent bag under each figure.

The silhouettes display the way locals go about their daily business, including washing clothes.

"If the fallen scraps were put back, the flat wall could be restored as it was before, like nothing happened," Lyu explains.