Renee Liang talks to Mu Yuming, an artist from Lijiang in China, who is spending three months in New Zealand as part of a series of international projects.

"I think the language I use in my art is a human language, and so what I make is speaking to everyone, including the Chinese in China and people everywhere else too."

Renee: How did you decide to become an artist?

Mu: I was just born this way.

Renee: What is your main aim in doing your projects? Is it more about exploring your identity, or getting others to explore theirs?

Mu: I think that my projects are about human identity, and since I’m a human being, what I’m working on is about me as well as about everyone else.  

Renee: Your work is challenging and provocative, as art should be.  Is it well received in China? Is it understood?

Mu: I think the language I use in my art is a human language, and so what I make is speaking to everyone, including the Chinese in China and people everywhere else too. The challenge of contemporary art language is to “speak” in such a way that I’m giving something to everyone, and that’s the intention I have and why I work the way I do. In China, people are looking toward the future and they are also looking toward the past, but this work happens in the present moment, and I think and hope that people understand this.

Renee: How is your work received in other places?  Do you think that ‘art’ has a place in public spaces?

Mu: I am passionate about art and its role in communication. I have a strong desire to engage with others, I like to share information, and I am happy to talk about art and my art, as well as listen to others. Because I've lived for more than a decade in Europe and can speak several languages – English, Dutch, Norwegian – I see myself as an ambassador for art and for taking down the white walls around the art world to allow all to participate – even if they say they haven't got a creative bone in their bodies.

Both projects that I plan to do in NZ are very performance-oriented. One critic had called me the Chinese 'Rolf Harris' because I can paint quickly. Both projects take art to the people. I would also like to offer workshops and masterclasses, and with the 20-day project and Family Portrait project, I will be producing art so audiences can see the work-in-progress and the completed art. During my NZ visit I will maintain a daily website. Currently I am discussing workshops with Capital-E, and am keen to involve school children in some of the 20-day Project. I would also like to utilize the excellent facilities around Wellington. With material generated from the first day of each project, I will be able to exhibit and also explain the process and the art.

From what I have heard, Wellington is an art-loving city, and I hope my presence will encourage more people to be involved in art, in whatever form. I want to enrich people's lives through art, whether they are farmers or office workers.

I also expect good media coverage, and already have interest from Asian media, TV, radio and magazines about my visit to New Zealand in February-April 2010.

Renee: So tell us more about the project you are doing in NZ.

Mu: Firstly, Family Portraits: a continuation of a project using an innovative way to capture people and their stories on canvas and video. I do quick portrait sittings of subjects – often family members – and during the 1-2 hours, I interview the subjects and record this on video. The result is an oil portrait accompanied by a video, revealing more about the real person. I am especially interested in Chinese New Zealanders, from MP Pansy Wong through to descendants of the first Chinese settlers. I may do the portraits as public sittings, ie with an audience, for example in an art gallery or perhaps in a greengrocers shop or the Sunday market featuring non-Chinese-speaking Kiwis from Otaki, Levin, etc.  My planned locations around Wellington include historical Chinatown areas, shopping centres with Chinese greengrocers, Chinese Sports and Culture Centre, Parliament, Te Papa, City Gallery

My second is what I call the 20-day Project.  This is an ongoing project in which I take the world and the changes that are always happening as the setting for my studio. This is the only way for an artist to survive in the wilderness of the modern world.

So far it’s been successfully undertaken in China, Norway and France. I would like to include Wellington as the next global location to host this inclusive interactive public art project. Enlisting the involvement of other artists, Asian-Kiwis and even passers-by, each day we'll create art throughout the capital. It could be a public painting in an unexpected place, a sculpture that viewers contribute to, an interactive exhibit, video footage observing and recording life in the city, an object made from found materials, or the creation of art performance. The activities are usually spontaneous or planned the night before – the results are often kept in the location, and sometimes are a vehicle for public expression –for example in France we created a small replica of the Himalayas using pig manure, providing a forum for a wider discussion.
 
Renee: Tell us about some of the personalities you have met and painted.  Are there any moments that stand out for you?

Mu: Everybody I’ve met has a unique face, and the face tells the history of the person. Everyone I met in New Zealand had a wonderful story to tell and a wonderful face.

Renee: You’re not from Canton, nor do you live away from your root country. Why did you choose to explore the story of the Chinese in NZ ?

Mu: Through a past project I did in China, called Family Portrait, I discovered a great deal about my own identity. I also had a very natural collaboration with Keith, a New Zealand artist in China. So I feel that it’s really my fate to work in New Zealand, and that in fact it was New Zealand that chose me to work there.
 
Renee: What are you up to in the rest of your time in NZ?

Mu: I think that all of the time I’ve spent in New Zealand is dedicated to my art and interaction with the people there.
 
Renee: What will you do with the works once you leave NZ?

Mu: I made this work not only for the people of New Zealand and also for the rest of the world. After showing the works in many exhibitions in New Zealand, I will continue to do similar projects in many other places, and I will show the works I make in those places as well as the ones I have made in New Zealand as I travel around the world.
 
To access the daily blog and find out more about Mu and his projects, visit:

www.mu-art.com farmermu@yahoo.com.cn
www.farmerstation.com farmerstation@gmail.com