New Classic of Mountains and Seas I
Qiu Anxiong Chinese
Not on view
In 2006, Qiu Anxiong completed his ambitious three-channel video New Classic of Mountains and Seas (I). Inspired by the ancient Chinese cosmography Classic of Mountains and Seas (Shanhai jing山海經), Qiu told a dystopic story of a land overrun by strange creatures, many of which had menacing overtones of technology run amok. To create the visual language of his animations, Qiu developed a technique of painting with dilute acrylic that evokes traditional Chinese ink painting. He uses these paintings—which he continuously alters, as the basis for his digitally manipulated animations. Originals such as these are the artifacts of this process.
