Ying Tianqi's ongoing exhibition "Inquiry of the Brick" in Today Art Museum features a display of thousands of wooden boxes containing old bricks. (Photo: ECNS/Qian Ruisha)
(ECNS) -- Renowned contemporary artist Ying Tianqi brings to life the memories lost in urbanization through the collection and regeneration of ancient bricks.
The ongoing exhibition at Today Art Museum, titled "Inquiry of the Brick: an Exhibition of the Contemporary Art of Ying Tianqi," displays thousands of wooden boxes containing old bricks, alongside a series of artworks including woodblock engravings as well as interactive videos and images.
Ying began to collect old bricks from the ancient town of Wuhu city (also his hometown) in Anhui Province during 2012. He then grounded the bricks and with the powder, built a large installation weighing 600 kilograms.
In 2014, he inspired nearly 10,000 local residents who had their homes demolished to collect old bricks, turning heritage protection into a collective cause.
Ying uses bricks as the medium of his art because these elementary cells of ancient architecture are the true storytellers of the passage of time. The bricks, which were once delicately carved and carefully maintained, were reduced to ruin and buried in people's memory as urbanization uproots ancient neighborhoods. They're witness to the change of an era and the fragility as well as helplessness of both culture and tradition.
"Ying's artworks sound an alarm to the fast-turning world that we shouldn't forget the past and the spiritual heritage of old times," said exhibition curator and art critic Yang Weimin at the opening ceremony on June 13.
"We hope the exhibition could help people recall a history and memory that have been ignored for too long," said museum dicrector Alex Gao Peng.
Born in 1949, Ying is considered one of the most influential figures in Chinese art history and has been widely recognized by international academia.
