We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Siwei Xu. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Siwei below.
Siwei, appreciate you joining us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?
On my journey towards artistic creation, there were two “epiphany” moments that helped me make up my mind. The first event happened during my childhood. My uncle was a woodcarving artist, and his studio was on the top floor of an old apartment building. The building had no elevator, and the stone steps were worn down; the stairwell walls were plastered with ads for fake certificates. My first visit happened when I was nine years old. I climbed up to the seventh floor, mustering the courage to pass through the unlit third and fourth floors, and entered my uncle’s studio. The studio always had a thin layer of wood dust and a mixed smell of various types of wood. In the corners where the dim light couldn’t reach, the old paint on an antique would occasionally glimmer. My uncle sat at the far end, under the only desk lamp, at the only table, polishing a small object. I went over to look—a little Pixiu lay quietly in my uncle’s calloused hands. Its posture was so lively—reaching back to scratch its ear, lifelike; and at the same time, so serene—maintaining its form, the wood no longer growing, the “concept” no longer changing, faithfully preserving its shape, letting the time leaving marks without uttering a sound. I was mesmerized until my uncle called me; it was my first concept of sculpture.
The second moment was ten years later when I was creating my portfolio to apply for university. My father helped me carry a plaster bust of David from the basement back home. When I turned around, I saw David’s exquisite and flawless face resting beside my father’s neck. The light illuminated the deep wrinkles on my father’s face. For the first time, I saw signs of aging in my father. In that moment, my father also seemed to turn into a sculpture, with time intricately carving his face and body—sometimes finely detailed, sometimes roughly chiseled. At that moment, I understood that sculpture does not need to exist in any specific object; everything is sculpture. All existence is like a piece of stone or wood, eternally carved by time until the end of time. These two moments explained to me what sculpture is, how it bravely holds its ground in time, and how sculpting carries time.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
Xu Siwei employs sculpture, performance, and video as his primary means of artistic expression. In terms of materials, he combines the traditional materials with found objects, liberating found objects from their functional context, traditional material from their craft significance. This methodology presents a non-linear perspective on history, deconstructing material hierarchies and collectively building possibilities within the postmodern ruins.
Regarding the concept behind, the figurative element remains a central motif. Siwei Xu situates it within various contexts, altering its signifiers (ranging from abundant replicated body parts to a solitary footprint), in order to explore the relationships between “humanity” and other entities. Through these relational dynamics, he contemplates the multifaceted nature of humanity that eludes singular definitions. Therefore, his artistic practice is systematic, continuously defining the significance of humanity from multiple relational perspectives, including natural life, political life, cultural life, spiritual life, linguistic life, temporal/spatial life, and historical life.
The significance of relationships is equally reflected in Xu Siwei’s performance art. His performance works visualize the relationships between people through the change in the state of objects, while using the works themselves to narrate the ineffable experiences of life’s relationships. Methodologically, his performance works are also the process of sculptural works, placing sculpture across boundaries into the realm of performance to reveal the temporality inherent in sculpture, and to explore the possibilities of the performance scene’s extension.
Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?
I wish I had known earlier that there are many residency programs available online for application. A residency program often provides artists with a period of rapid growth.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
The most rewarding moments are the sense of accomplishment when I finish a piece and the audience’s response when the work is exhibited. The completion of a contemporary art piece is no longer solely the artist’s achievement; it is only complete when the viewer interprets it.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://siweixu.com
- Instagram: motuxu
