BEIJING, July 19 (Xinhua) - Lei Chak Man wants to talk about life and death.
The conversation takes the form of 12 pieces of art created between 2015 and 2017 by the Hong Kong-born artist in his current show "you can't live forever." It opened at the Ying Gallery in Beijing over the weekend.
"In the past, pine trees were cut down and burned to make ink so that the literati could use it as a medium of artistic creation. The material, ink, comes from destruction, from death," Lei, 40, told Xinhua.
This story illustrates two concepts presented throughout Lei's work: the absurd and process.
Lei uses stickers, mirrors, smoke, sketches, paper cutouts and literary references to explore the passage of time. It is no coincidence that the selected works are as playful, varied and, at times, confusing as each spectator's own unique existence.
Rather than literally translating the title of the exhibition, Lei decided on different Chinese and English frames of reference, so that visitors to the show can obtain another layer of meaning.
The English title is lifted from "The Great Gatsby," while the Chinese title "coming into existence in the morning, and passing away in the evening," is taken from "Huainanzi," a collection of essays written in the second century B.C.
The Chinese title refers to the life cycle of a mayfly, Lei said, which exerts all of its happiness in that brief window of time.
With references to hedonism, futility, transience and rebirth, the artist is drawing attention to the myriad ways in which life can be led.
"Everyone must travel down the path; after the garden of rose bushes you may encounter a river that you must cross in order to get home. Time is moving and there is, sadly, no stillness in our living," he explained.
One of Lei's favorite pieces in the exhibition is a canvas covered in 86,400 gold stickers: One sticker for each second in a day.
"Sticking them on a canvas is time-consuming, but in the process one could feel the passage of time," Lei explained.
Stephen Gleadow, an American artist who attended the exhibition, shared his understanding of the work.
"When we stand in front of it, we cast a vague shadow," Gleadow said. "The golden spots represent the wealth and success that many people spend their whole life perusing. Yet, somehow, when they look back at the end of life, these material things [often] turn out to be meaningless, taken away so easily by death."
Lei has selected works that encourage the viewer to incorporate his or her own experience into how they perceive the piece in front of them.
"I would like my work to cause or initiate the process of thinking or reflection in the spectators, and not to suggest [to them] how to live better lives," Lei said.
Another piece attracting much attention was composed of a series of dots that formed an image of a man falling from a skyscraper. It was inspired by the events that took place in American on 9/11.
"Many of the victims in the building were wealthy and successful, but when their life ended at that moment, everything was over."
Next to the picture was the nursery rhyme "London Bridge Is Falling Down." The juxtaposition, he said, brings attention to the fragility of life and how important it is to cherish every moment.
Wang Xin, another gallery visitor, said that the body of work combined Chinese classical philosophy with Western art form. "It is the clash of East and West," she said.
Lei, however, disagreed.
"I do not see my work as a 'clash' so much as the 'soil' under our feet. If I am a plant and I am planted in Beijing I will grow differently from if I am planted in Luoyang, or London, or Lisbon. I can be influenced by my environment, affected by the different people around me, and in so doing I become who I am."
Lei Chak Man: "you can't live forever" will run at the Ying Gallery, Beijing, until Aug. 14.
