I arrived in Chongqing a few days ago. I’m staying in the arts district of the city. It’s lively with lots of galleries and studio complexes housed in old warehouse buildings, which from the perspective of a London based artist seem incredibly spacious. Many of the buildings are covered in colourful murals and there are food stalls, especially in the evening, where you can find anything that can be skewered, wrapped in a dumpling or immersed in a broth. On my second evening here my host took me out for the local speciality, hotpot, which was delicious and not as ridiculously spicy as I’d been led to believe. Everyone fills their bowls from a big pot of spicy broth with vegetables, noodles and, in this case, fish, which sits gently boiling on a gas ring at the centre of the table.
I told my host that I was interested in exploring drawing and writing in Chinese so he took me to see the studio of an artist who studied traditional Chinese painting, mainly ink work, and who often uses calligraphy. I was shown a work on a scroll made of a material somewhere between paper and fabric that mixed modern news stories with traditional handwritten calligraphy. The piece was five meters long and we had an interesting discussion about how it would be exhibited. I was told that many traditional Chinese scroll paintings were not made to be hung on the wall, but were stored rolled up and then rolled out for each individual viewing. This seemed like a more intimate and engaging viewing experience than encountering works hung on a gallery wall.
Last night I went to my first ‘piano party’ – a gathering in one of the studios with wine and someone playing piano – and today I’m planning to explore, take some photos and start work on my project.
