Dream 30-3-2004

Chen Haiyan’s artistic practice is grounded in traditional woodcut and printmaking influenced by the German Expressionists and also by the style of Chinese literati landscape painting. Her work focuses on the intriguing, private world of her dreams which she has written in an epic diary over the past 30 years. Applied in strong brushstrokes against contrasting colours, each of her work depicts a unique, fantastical narrative featuring juxtapositions of figures, animals and objects interrupted by engraved marks. A script of the story — almost like a superscription on a Chinese ink and brush scroll – is written on the textured surface revealing a hint of the mysterious. In Dream 30-3-2004, Chen wrote,
‘Dream 30 March 2004
In a small box in my room. I discovered a small green insect I had placed there the year before.
It had woken from is winter sleep and crawled out from the cocoon, but it had no strength to move.
It was still alive.
I thought to myself,
‘there is a mulberry tree downstairs. I should quickly go and pick some mulberry leaves and feed it.’
Suddenly I discovered a few limp mulberry leaves in my hand, but they could still be used for feed.
When I saw the worm, it seemed to smell the leaves.
And poked its head from the cocoon and began to eat vigorously
It was starving.If it didn’t eat then it would have died.’