Liang Shuni 梁姝妮
Artwork’s Title: Cartographer series –Cartographer in wandering
作品名:制图员–游荡中的制图员
Material Used: Oil on canvas, Cigarette butts
使用材料：布面油画，烟头
Studio Based: Guangzhou, China
所在工作室：中国广州
Can you tell us about the process of making your work?
你能告诉我们你的创作过程是怎样的吗？
I count highly on my first instincts, which are also the initial motivation for me to create. Such intuition that I call ‘direct stimulation’ would appear when I encounter someone interesting or something particular in my daily life, and I will record my feelings quickly although they may not be the products of thorough thinking. Then I will reconsider how to transform these feelings into art pieces, such as the materials used, the selection of colors, the methodology adopted, etc. I think this stage comes with thoughts and decisions.
Besides, I’m quite process-oriented and when I actually start to paint or make an installation, I would try to keep an open mind and follow any changes and new ideas in the creating process.
我会非常重视自己的第一直觉，那对我来说是创作的最初动力。这种第一直觉会表现在我日常生活中遇到的人与事物，当我看到他们时他们带给我的某种特殊或有趣的感受，我称这种直觉叫“直接刺激”它也许并非深思熟虑的产物，但我都会快速的记录下来。之后我会花时间去思考如何将这种感受转化成我的创作，比如运用的材料，色彩的选择，表现的手法等。这个阶段我认为带有思考与抉择。另外我是相当重视过程的人，在真正着手画一幅画或者做一个装置时，我会尽量让自己保持开放的态度，尊重过程中的变化与再思考。
How would you define your work in a few words (ideally in 3 words)?
你可以用几个词来定义你的作品吗？（3个词为佳）
Escaping, Imaging, Establishing.
逃逸，想象，建立。
You will be taking part in a group show, ‘A Spring of Magical Thinking’, at Hunsand Space in Beijing. Could you talk about your new works that you will show there?
你将会在北京参加拾萬空间的一个群展，“奇想之春”。你能聊聊你将会展出的那些新作吗？
‘A Spring of Magical Thinking’ is an upcoming show at Hunsand Space. Curated by Fiona He, it will present works of 11 artists.
I will have three of my artworks exhibited in this show, and they all relate to the body. One of them is called ‘Loose Cornfield after burning’ from 2021, which consists of a tower fan, a ping-pong ball ,and a painting. The fan is switched to the oscillation mode, and make the ping-pong ball attached to it tap slowly the painting on the wall, while the painting shows naked buttocks. In this work, only the fan ‘dictates’ the rhythm. I like the rhythms when the fan oscillates, and make it visible with a ping-pong ball. From the fan to the ping-pong ball and the buttocks in the painting, I tried to build a relationship between the very three. Also seeing the fan treats the buttocks on the wall in a gentle way, I recall the feeling of walking through a fluffy cornfield after burning when I was a child.
“奇想之春”是拾萬空间即将推出的一个展览，由贺潇策划，展览集合了12位艺术家。我会在展览中展出三件作品，他们都与围绕着身体所展开的内容有关。其中一件作品是我在2021年所创作的《焚烧后松软的玉米田》它是由一个风扇，一个乒乓球与一幅画组成。通过风扇左右摆动的模式，使得乒乓球能缓慢的敲击到墙面的绘画上，而那幅画的画面是一个赤裸的臀部，这是一个只有风扇能“主宰”节奏的作品，我正是因为喜欢风扇摆动时所带来的节奏感，用一颗乒乓球将这种节奏可视化，从风扇到乒乓球再到画面上的臀部，我试图搭建一个只属于他们三者的关系，最后在我看来，风扇以温柔的方式在对待墙上的臀部，这种感受就像我小时候走在焚烧后的玉米田里。
Could you share with us some insights on your ‘Cartographer in wandering’, (2021) painting? Is there any particular story behind this new work?
你能与我们分享一下你的“游荡中的制图员”（2021）这幅画的一些理念/观念吗？作品的背后有什么特别的故事吗？
‘Cartographer in wandering’ belongs to the ‘Cartographer Series’, which is my notebook and a series I have been working on. The series has a general story and tone, but I don’t intend to limit the style of the whole series strictly, which is also why I call it a ‘notebook’, it is a testing ground for my new ideas.
This series is generally based on one character, who doesn’t have a name, a gender, but whose only identity is of a cartographer. This guy is an ordinary person trying to discover spaces other than daily life, and in this process, strange things happen occasionally. ‘Cartographer in wandering’ is the portrait of this being, but because the cartographer is in an uncertain state of mental wandering, I did not treat it as a normal portrait, rather, I made it appear to be both here and there, real and unreal, hidden yet visible. The cartographer’s eyes, only slightly open, also reveal this state of wandering.
Francis Bacon influenced me a lot in this work, he is one of my favorite artists.
《游荡中的制图员》是《制图员》系列中的一幅画，《制图员》系列是我的笔记本，也是我一直在进行中的系列。这个系列有一个大概的故事与基调，但我不打算限制整个系列的表现风格，这也是我称它为“笔记本”的原因，它是我进行新想法的试验田。而这个系列大概是围绕一个人物，这个人物没有名字，没有性别，唯一的身份就是制图员，Ta是个普通人，Ta在试图挖掘日常生活之外的一些空间，在这过程中常有怪事发生。而《游荡中的制图员》正是Ta的肖像，但因为制图员正处于不确定的精神游荡中，我并没有把Ta处理为常见的肖像画，而是让他看起来既在此处又在彼处，真实而虚幻，藏匿又显现。包括Ta只睁开一点的眼睛也透露了这种游离。在整幅画中，我受到了弗朗西斯·培根的影响，他也是我喜欢的艺术家之一。
Do specific artworks have been created by random experiments in your studio or do you usually come up with a particular concept or narrative in the very beginning of your artistic process?
有没有一些作品是你在工作室中随机实验的产物，还是你会现在创作的一开始就有特定的想法和构思？
In my art practices, concepts and random experiments occur in sequence (or they may sometimes occur simultaneously), in whatever cases, they are both the key elements of my creation. I think it’s important to keep multiple factors as the premises of creation so that it’s fun, and the results could be unexpected, and I like the unexpected.
在我的创作中构思与随机实验是先后发生的（也可能同时发生）不论怎样它们都是我创作的关键因素。我认为创作要在保有多重因素的情况下进行，这样会得到乐趣，结果也可能会出乎意料，而我喜欢出乎意料。
Is there any particular theme that utterly triggers you to engage your art with?
有没有什么极其激发你创作欲的主题？
I have my own preferences, which might be a good thing, but also could be a limitation. I like things that are contradictory. Usually, those things with opposed sides and double meanings would attract me.
我有自己的偏好，这也许是好事，也可能是局限。我喜欢一些带有矛盾性的东西，往往是那些兼具对立或者双重意义的事物总会吸引我的注意。
What would be the best way to exhibit your work?
展示你作品的最佳方式是什么？
I think the best way is to show them in a setting that is antithetical to my work. For example, if I create a very artificial installation, it should probably be put into nature.
我认为在和我作品对立的场景中展示它们也许是最佳的，比如我制作了一个非常人工的装置，它也许应该到大自然中去。
Can you mention any artists you, lately or generally, take inspiration from?
你能说几个近期或是一直以来给你启发和灵感的艺术家吗？
I have been following some contemporary artists’ works. I like most the works of Jana Euler, Jamian Juliano-Villani, Bora Akinciturk, Duan Jianyu, Jesse Darling, Wang Xingwei, Wayne Horse (the list could go on).
我近期都在看一些当代艺术家的作品，很喜欢Jana Euler，Jamian Juliano-Villani，Bora akinciturk，段建宇，Jesse darling，王兴伟，Wayne Horse的作品。
What about the place where you work? What’s your studio space look like?
你在什么样的地方进行创作，你的工作室是什么样的？
I initially rented a room as my studio in an old neighborhood in Guangzhou,China, but rats ravaged the old building, and they chewed on my frames. Then I moved to another place in a creative district, still, it was too small for me, so in 2021 I made a third move to my current studio, which is relatively large and in a factory zone. The room is rectangular with a simple layout, and I love it.
我之前在中国广州一个老社区的居民楼租工作室，后来因为那栋老建筑出现鼠患，老鼠会啃食我的画框而搬到创意园区一个工作间，当时空间很小。2021年第三次工作室搬迁，这次搬到了相对大一点的空间，在一个工厂区内，空间呈长方形，简单直接的格局，我很喜欢。
Which are your plans for the near future?
你近期有什么计划呢？
Recently I have been working on a new series already. It will have a general theme, and as before, I will not restrict too much the methods used. I’m looking forward to it because I don’t know what it will look like in the end, and that excites me a lot.
近期在构思新的系列，并已经开始投入创作，它有一个大致的主题，但创作方法上还是会像之前一样不作过多的限制。我很期待，因为我不知道它最终的面貌会是怎样的，这点让我兴奋。
Translation/Proofread by Cao Yaqi 翻译/校对：曹雅琦
Additional Images
All images courtesy of the artist