Monijian：Walking ≈ Dopamine ≈ Sense of Security
Shijiazhuang
20 May 2023 - 23 Jul 2023
Monijian：Walking ≈ Dopamine ≈ Sense of Security
Monijian：Walking ≈ Dopamine ≈ Sense of Security
Since graduating from the Department of Painting at Xinjiang Normal University in 2014, Monijian has been searching for a creative language that resonates with himself. It was not until 2017 that he started to venture onto the streets, observing his surroundings through continuous walking and even strolling, in order to find his subjects and engage in on-site creations. This approach is akin to that of a guerrilla hunter, swiftly taking out tools from his backpack and "sniping" once a target is spotted.
Over time, Monijian's on-site actions in public spaces have become more random, everyday, and defined. The accumulation of public practices has become a necessary training, making the artist increasingly sensitive and discerning. In contrast, since 2021, Mo Nijian has been collecting remnants from public spaces, transforming them into indoor sculptures exhibited in galleries. Having left many works on the streets, the artist feels at ease when "collecting" public objects, achieving a balance between giving and taking, and also realizing a harmony between the outdoors and indoors in his works.
In recent years, due to changes in his life, Mo Nijian has moved from Beijing to Shanghai and then to Chengdu. He treats every city he has lived in as his studio, resulting in an increasing number of conventional tools in his backpack and expanding possibilities for action. Now, Shijiazhuang has become his new walking target. This reminds him of his hometown, Urumqi, a Chinese city undergoing standardization where every street is full of unknowns yet seems strangely familiar.
In the period leading up to the exhibition, Mo Nijian made full use of his time walking in Shijiazhuang, leaving traces of his works on the city streets and salvaging found objects, which he transformed and presented in the gallery. In such walking and creating, Mo Nijian never actively seeks risks and thrills, yet walking itself brings comfort and satisfaction, swaying along an indistinct and inexplicable safety line between oneself and others.
Monijian, born in Urumqi, Xinjiang in 1992, graduated from the Department of Painting at Xinjiang Normal University in 2014. He currently lives and works in Chengdu, Sichuan.
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