2015年CRI Art Meets Architecture as Chinese Installation Sets Sail on the Thames River in London

 

Artist Xiang Yang created 'Ultra Architecture' as a tribute to his childhood home. It's now to encounter the British capital's historic monuments.

Chugging along London's River Thames - between the sightseeing cruises and transport vessels¹ - is an artistic² tribute to architecture.

The work of upcoming Chinese artist Xiang Yang, known as 'Ultra Architecture' – has traveled halfway³ round the world, from Tianjin, China before hitting the British capital.

It's the artist's first international solo exhibition.

Artist Xiang Yang says the artwork is a visual representation of the interaction between Chinese and western philosophy, art and architecture.

"I want to open a door from the Chinese culture and let it merge⁴ into the contemporary concepts of architecture."

Xiang Yang's work combines materials that are symbols of traditional Chinese culture.

He works with antique wooden furniture, colored silks and ink paintings.

He has combined these elements into a large-scale sculptural installations which explore modern China's relationship with its past.

Xiang was raised in a wooden house in China before moving to the United States.

The artist says his latest work is a tribute to this lost childhood home.

"The original inspiration of the piece comes from my childhood when I had a wooden house just like this. It was torn down because of the demand from the reconstruction⁵ of China. I think what is happening in China today is to destroy our memory of the past. And for me the culture has become dream composed of broken pieces which are travelling with me and never vanished."

2015 has been designated as the Year of Cultural exchange between the UK and China.

Earlier this year, several prominent British artists were invited to exhibit their works in China.

Alex Gao, Director of the renowned⁶ Today Art Museum in Beijing says artistic exchanges between the two countries have increased in recent years.

"Because this year is the China-UK Cultural exchange year and in the first half of this year we saw many British artists coming to China, and we hope that in the second half of the year we can see many Chinese artists display their works in the UK."

As business, travel and tourism between Beijing and London increases, Xiang Yang's work is intended to be a symbol of east meeting west.

'Ultra Architecture' by Xiang Yang will be on show on a floating pontoon at London's St. Katharine Docks until October 28.

Permanent collections of Xiang Yang's work are on show at the National Art Museum of China and the Today Art Museum in Beijing's famous 798 Art district.

For CRI I'm Poornima Weeerasekara.

1 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

2 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。

3 halfway   

adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途

参考例句：

• We had got only halfway when it began to get dark.走到半路，天就黑了。
• In study the worst danger is give up halfway.在学习上，最忌讳的是有始无终。

4 merge   

v.(使)结合，(使)合并，(使)合为一体

参考例句：

• I can merge my two small businesses into a large one.我可以将我的两家小商店合并为一家大商行。
• The directors have decided to merge the two small firms together.董事们已决定把这两家小商号归并起来。

5 reconstruction   

n.重建，再现，复原

参考例句：

• The country faces a huge task of national reconstruction following the war.战后，该国面临着重建家园的艰巨任务。
• In the period of reconstruction,technique decides everything.在重建时期，技术决定一切。

6 renowned   

adj.著名的，有名望的，声誉鹊起的

参考例句：

• He is one of the world's renowned writers.他是世界上知名的作家之一。
• She is renowned for her advocacy of human rights.她以提倡人权而闻名。