Sichuan Institute of Fine Art is divided into 2 campuses. One opposite us (which includes the new Commercial Art course) and one in the north of the city, which we visited today. A huge modernist building, deathly quiet, yet home to 8000 art students. We visited studio after studio of life drawing classes, first in oil painting, then watercolour and then sculpture. The students do 3 days a week of life drawing/painting/sculpture for 3 years, perfecting the traditional techniques of the artist; it is only in their final year that an experimental approach is encouraged.
Today I visited several sites which are significant in Nina’s work. Firstly a point on the Jialing River, where the water is green and clear. It is a beautifully tranquil place, despite being under a motorway and being surrounded by piles of rubble.
We then, prompted by photograph sent to Nina by David Hancock (an artist we know from Manchester), set out to find a tree depicted in the photograph in Eiling Park. Amazingly Nina found the tree, it was in a walled Chinese garden, where old men sat playing traditional Chinese violins and old women did their daily exercise routines. The idea of seeking out locations in Chongqing mentioned to her by artists Nina knows is a poetic endeavour. These suggestions are not just – visit this restaurant, they serve the greatest Chinese hot-pot in Chongqing – but small and quiet sites, meaningful to them and in turn, meaningful to Nina. I love the idea of standing under a tree, thousands of miles from home, that our friend has stood under years before.
At dusk we took a taxi to the point where the two rivers meet, the Jialing and the Yangtze. Where green meets grey. Dusk is a magical time in Chongqing, where the city lights start to appear through the mist and the city comes to life.
Jessica Longmore
Tuesday 23rd November
