Born February the 8th 1954, the Chinese-french contemporary artist Huang Yong Ping was regarded as the most controversial and provocative artist of the 1980’s Chinese art scene. Born in Xiamen, He began his artistic journey in a self-taught fashion, inspired by the work of artists such as Joseph Beuys, John Cage and most importantly Marcel Duchamp. Huang Yong Ping combined the philosophies of Chinese religions such as Chan buddhism, taoism, and some western philosophies along with Dadaism, into his artistic practice. Huang Yong Ping even founded the group ‘Xiamen Dada’ in 1986. His body of work he created throughout his life, until his untimely death on the 20th of October 2019, could be grouped into 4 main categories. These categories were, anti-artistic affectation, anti-self-expression, anti-art , and anti-history.

The piece that drew my attention to Huang Yong Ping’s work was his ‘Bank of Sand, Sand of Bank’. Commenting on the history of the former HSBC Bank building in Shanghai, and it’s ironic fragility demonstrated by its past, and the various uses it has had.

Huang Yong Ping’s use of the material sand, and it’s inherent symbolism of fragility and temporality is something I would like to explore in my own work. Sand’s ability to capture an interaction, whether that’s a footprint or a sandcastle, interests me. what interests me more however is how temporary this captured memory is.

Another element of Huang Yong Ping’s work that I identify with, is that his projects often ‘involve a deferring process’, tending to deviate from an original concept. A developmental element I try to include in my own artistic process. Beginning with one idea and having the confidence to let go of that idea and move forward, creating more successful and developed ideas.

There are some controversial works by Huang Yong Ping that I don’t necessarily agree with, artworks that involve animal cruelty to pose the questions Huang Yong Ping is trying to ask. Although I understand that the concept driven by the artwork ‘Theatre of The World’ required the involved animals, and I respect that Huang Yong Ping is a controversial artist used to pushing boundaries, I don’t agree with the use of sentient lifeforms in art.