Shamanism Series—Variation 1, 2, 3
Cang Xin
苍鑫
Production date
2005
Object Detail
Media
pencil on paper
Measurements
3 pieces, each 207 x 258 cm
Notes
Conceptual artist Cang Xin’s works are produced by hired, highly skilled artists and artisans to his specifications – they give physical form to his visions. Shamanism Series: Variation depicts a bizarre butcher’s shop in which human and animal carcasses hang from hooks above the severed heads of the artist, three children, a pig, a wolf and a crocodile. So, is Cang Xin suggesting that humans and animals are ultimately equal? “I believe every living being has a soul,” he says. “One creature can transform into another. We are meat but also spiritual.” Cang Xin’s mother was a Shaman, and he has always been deeply interested in the animist aspects of shamanic ritual and belief systems as well as in ideas about reincarnation and the transmigration of souls.
Accession number
2007.002