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The new wave of Chinese artists in the British metropolis consists almost entirely of young art students, many not known in their homeland, in contrast to a previous mix of graduates and exiles from troubles of the Cultural Revolution and Tienanmen aftermathYinjie Sun 2007, Paris No 1, oil on linen, 90 x 90 cm

SAJID RIZVI

Sun Yinjie An emerging artist in LondonSun Yinjie An emerging artist in London

The work of Sun Yinjie (aka Yinjie Sun), London-based Chinese artist, is marked by invisible

presences, playful allegories that invite the viewer to ponder over deeper meanings of both life and art.

Sun embarked on his Paris series of paintings a few years ago, after arriving in Britain to advance his studies at Camberwell and then at Central St Martins. He has continued with the project alongside other

explorations that seek to reinterpret portraiture, including portraits of characters from the Chinese opera, self-portraits and drawing.

The invisible presences from the Paris paintings are symbolised by Sun’s increasingly characteristic paper darts, invariably all red, that appear in hazy, sleepy cityscapes of the French metropolis, but without any clue as to who is launching the ephemeral aircraft into the offered space.

Paper darts, as we know them in the ordinary white or non-red variety, are an early introduction to the wonders of living and space for toddlers, usually involving grown-ups who are out to amuse them (and perhaps themselves), and also to teach the children new skills. Paper darts are a common device of banter and flirtation in education or work spaces, a means of conveying playful or secret messages across desks or rooms.

Eastern Art Report • No 65 [2009 / 1] 45

Airborne mysteries

Paper darts may require exemplary skills from those indulging in what

essentially is a rudimentary mix of aerodynamics and origami.

The failure or success of the flight of a dart can have unpredictable consequences, especially where the intent is more than an idle passing of time. So, in Sun’s paintings, who is throwing those darts and where are they headed?

These unanswered questions certainly keep the viewer transfixed —at least momentarily if not for protracted contemplation—on Sun Yinjie’s work. The darts thus introduce an element of mystery—and signs of life—in Sun Yinjie’s depictions of rooftops, terraces and empty streets at quiet imagined moments in the French urban sprawl.

Themes from Chinese opera

In Sun Yinjie’s other recent work he has begun exploring themes that are

drawn as much from his experiences in China, the opera figures for instance, as from his more recent encounters in the West.

Sun Yinjie, born in 1985 in Jiangxi Province, studied to a BA in fashion design in Shanghai and proceeded to a foundation in fine art at the department of international development Fine Arts School affiliated to China Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing.

He followed that up with fine art foundation at Camberwell College of Art, before launching himself into the creative kitchen of Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, where art, design and performance collide and coalesce, with sometimes unfathomable but usually interesting results.

These are early days for Sun Yinjie’s artistic oeuvre, but certainly a period worth watching for creative progression through phases of his art. © Sajid Rizvi

Yinjie Sun 2008, Paris No 2, oil on linen, 81 x 65 cm

Sun Yinjie’s Statement [2007] As an artist I like using my own style to express my inner feelings and thoughts as I relate them to contemporary society, my environment, and my lifestyle. As I experience more in my life, and learn more from others around me, I find a constant source of inspiration. My diary is a collection composed of many of these special moments recorded with camera, and with pencil. I will select carefully the most expressive materials to interpret my deepest feelings; constantly striving and eventually achieving the effect that I wanted. I have my own working style, though I also absorb other beneficial ideas, always insistent on improving the quality of my work. In my opinion it is an extreme view to criticize someone else’s art work given just one perspective or point of view. The purity of the heart is the most important part, the best aspect, of the artist, and it is that which gives the art work the soul that touches an audience. The real masterpiece is the art which makes the audience appreciate and think on the philosophy of life, and which in turn inspires them. This is the real value of art and the lifelong pursuit of the artist; to create art that ensures that your place in art history, and in the minds of people who shall never forget the artist through their timeless art.

Chinese Art in the 1990sSubtitled ‘Cross-influences and Cross-currents,’ this special issue of Eastern Art Report (ISSN 0269-8404, Issue 46, Volume IV No 4) surveys the British artistic scene with a special reference to the Chinese artists based in the country. There are also articles on Yunnan art, Chinese maritime paintings, interviews with four major artists, Wu Guangzhong, Yang Yanping, Zeng Shanqing, Hai Shuet Yeung and a leading article on the styles and future direction of twentieth century Chinese art. Available from Safnet www.saffronbooksandart.net