Rainbow
Exhibition Location: the mountains and wilderness of Gangga Town, Xigaze, Tibet
North latitude: 28°30′16″, east longitude: 86°36′50″
Altitude: 4,530 meters
From September 18th to 19th, 2020, “Waiting for the Wind—Wang Yiming’s Artistic Action” (Rainbow) slowly unfolded in Gangga Town, Xigaze, Tibet, facing Mount Qomolangma and surrounding mountain peaks of over 8,000 meters. The 83 large scale paintings created by the artist Wang Yiming over the past few years were carried on the backs of 57 yak, alongside the curvature of the hilly terrain, across the fields whose shadow and shape was formed by the sun, the rolling skies, and snow-capped mountains. Amongst the wilderness and unrelenting wind, the ritualistic procession of Wang’s works across the landscape seems to form a rainbow that appears at the third pole of the earth.
The Part of Rainbow
At the exhibition site, participants shared a common purpose, herding the yak, bringing the works of art into higher altitudes towards Mount Everest. Together, 92 on-site personnel and 57 yaks jointly laid out “Rainbow”, the 83 works of art on canvas, onto the terrain of the rolling plateaus into a procession formation 15 meters wide and 400 meters long.
land art in action
land art in action
Exposed to the glaring sun and snow peaks among higher Tibetan plateaus, it can be said that “Rainbow” was created by the joint efforts of man and nature—like a snow-capped mountain rising from the landscape, bringing viewers a vivid and ritualistic, holy experience.
The Part of Rainbow
As the gaze of the visitor deepens, “Rainbow” becomes a portal, or an artistic channel, connecting man and nature, a spiritual bridge between man and the world, guiding the soul to a state of higher freedom to transcend into the sacredness of nature.
Rainbow
The “Waiting for the Wind” exhibition has, in fact, been in the works for a number of years. It is a piece that gradually revealed itself through the participatory and implementation process and involved the participation of many people and actors to bring it to life.
land art in action
land art in action
In 2016, while sketching in Tibet, Wang Yiming coincidentally came up with the idea of painting and exhibiting on Mount Everest. Upon his return to the Guangzhou studio, Wang spurred into immediate action and creation. During this period of artistic creation, he painted a whopping 83 works titled “Banners”. From 2017 to 2019, some works of the “Banner” series were exhibited in Beijing, Shanghai, Zhuhai, Guangzhou, Dongguan, Chengdu, and abroad in Vancouver, Canada.
2020 is an unprecedented year. Upon thoughtful reflection on humanity and our complicity in the destruction of nature, Wang launched the “Waiting for the Wind” exhibition in Tibet. In July and September, Wang led a flurry of participants and the project team to bring his 83 banners back to the very birthplace of the muse herself – the Tibetan plateau. Calling upon the sacred mountains and lake landscape, approaching the ruins of the city capital, and the snowy peaks of the Himalayas. The series calls into question man’s position in a moment of global crisis, when the epidemic has become a conflict of many scales.
land art in action
Past fantasies become rooted in reality. In the epidemic era, they have become sincere, plain. The exhibition has become Wang Yiming’s calm and powerful voice, guiding people to reflect on the global crisis and nature –the questions that are simultaneously vast in scope yet personal to each individual.
land art in action
In 2020, the 83 banners were arranged and exhibited in “Waiting for the Wind” with grand velocity, spurring visitors to reflect on the vast and rich spiritual meaning conveyed by the banners through the landscape.
land art in action
In July, “ Eye” exhibition situated between the sacred mountains and holy lakes in the Ali landscape resembles an all-encompassing eye from the sky. Under its presence, there is nowhere to hide what human beings do—all is revealed to the knowing gaze. At the same time, it is also under the vigilance of the beautiful eye that leads viewers, in awe, to contemplate on their calling in life.
Eye
The Part of Eye
The Part of Eye
In the pursuit of contemplation, praying, and soul searching, Yang Yiming returned to Tibet in September, situating another exhibition, “Rainbow”, among the Himalayas. “Rainbow” is not only a portal between worlds but also a form of communication. It is the bridge between people and the world at large, a perceptual medium that transcends multi-scalar realms. It is also a playful gesture towards the colorful weather symbology we grew up seeing, but here we begin to reformulate our understanding of the rainbow as a connector between earth and the heavens above, between man and god. Through “Rainbow”, perhaps we will all take part in the final and ultimate prayer, climbing the zeniths of Mount Everest to reach the highest point of the celestial skies.
The Part of Rainbow
In this meshing of scales, “Eye ” and “Rainbow” take their rightful place among other well-known landscape features such as mountain peaks, lakes, clouds, and thunderstorms. Together, they are all portals, or a “ladder”, for man to achieve spiritual ascendance and apotheosis. As the soul sheds away its earthly desire, the “ladder” gradually disappears. The guiding light of the pure soul illuminates the path towards eternal truth.
land art in action
Despite the challenges in 2020, we find ourselves walking hand in hand, in unity and support. The banners have arrived, dancing in the wind. In the future, we will continue to forge ahead, lighting the path. It is a long road. When the stars illuminate in the sky, remember to gaze up, and pray together!
Rainbow
Artist Wang Yiming 王義明. Was born in Liuyang, Hunan, and graduated from Hunan Vocational and Technical College of Arts and Crafts in 1986. He also holds a MFA from the Xi’an Academy of Fine Arts (1993). Currently, he is the director of the Fine Arts Teaching and Research Section of the School of Architecture, South China University of Technology, the director of the Visual Art Laboratory, the director of the Environmental Art Institute, a member of the Fine Arts Teaching Working Committee of the National Colleges and Universities Architecture Professional Steering Committee, a visiting scholar of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, and a member of the Architectural Society of China.
CANTON-SARDINE 