From China to the Netherlands, art, culture and friendship flows

From a distance, it appeared to be a white marble statue of a girl wearing a headscarf. Then came the magic. As it was slowly stretched and pulled apart, the audience realized in awe that it was actually made of paper. The interplay between hardness and softness, stillness and movement, was demonstrated by Ying Jinfei, director of Zhejiang Art Museum, in Hangzhou, at an event in The Hague, the Netherlands, on June 10.

The work, titled Teaching Aids Series: Girl with a Headscarf, was created by paper artist Li Hongbo. She was inspired by zhifanhua, a traditional craft in which layers of paper are stacked, carved and expanded during performances, creating works like the paper statue.

The sculpture, part of the Zhejiang Art Museum collection, is featured in The Realm of Clarity: Ecological Foresight and Civilizational Exchange in Oriental Wisdom, an exhibition at Pulchri Studio, an artists' association and gallery founded in 1847 in The Hague.

Curated by Ying, the exhibition debuted at the Chinese pavilion of the Malta Biennale where it was on view from March 11 to May 29. It explores the aesthetic and philosophical significance of water in Chinese culture, drawing on ideas developed by ancient thinkers and reinterpreted by contemporary artists.

"The Taoist concept of shang shan ruo shui — the highest good is like water — says that water is a dual symbol of life and morality, because water nourishes all things without contention and adapts its form to the terrain," Ying says.

Featuring prints, ink paintings, watercolors, sculptures and mixed-media works by 14 artists, the exhibition translates the ecological wisdom embedded in Chinese culture into contemporary artistic expression.

Running until June 28, the exhibition in The Hague is supported by the Chinese embassy in the Netherlands as part of celebrations marking the 10th anniversary of the China Cultural Center in The Hague. It aims to strengthen ties between the Chinese and Dutch people while promoting mutual understanding and dialogue between civilizations.