Title: Offering
Artist: Wang Qingsong
Medium: Archival Pigment Print
Date: 2003
Culture: Chinese
Dimensions: 120 x 230 cm (24 x 45 inches)
Repository: In the possession of the artist
This picture was one of the first cinematic designs of Qingsong. Naked actors wade through deep blue water and stretch their hands forward reaching to give various offerings including flowers and statues to the golden statue. The triangular composition of the devotees drives the viewer’s eye toward the statue in the middle. The golden statue is surrounded by a gold decoration that acts as a halo. This statue is meant to represent the Goddess of Mercy, Guanyin. She sits upon a lotus flower, symbolizing her enlightenment and wisdom while also being surrounded by a golden halo to signify her divinity. Qingsong stands in the background actively scrutinizing the worship of a Goddess as the land is flooded. The artist combines traditional elements of Buddhism with a surreal scene to convey ideas about the modernization of Buddhism and the idea of “fake” Buddhism.
Sources:
Floriani, Giulia Pra. “‘The History of Monuments’ of Wang Qingsong.” Wang Quinsong Studio, June 2015, http://www.wangqingsong.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=300&Itemid=43&lang=en.
Karetzky, Patricia Eichenbaum. “Wang Qingsong’s Use of Buddhist Imagery .” Wang Quinsong Studio , Wang Quinsong, http://www.wangqingsong.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=280&Itemid=41&lang=en.
“Wang Qingsong: Debacle .” Huxley- Parlour, Huxley- Parlour, 10 Aug. 2015, https://huxleyparlour.com/exhibitions/wang-qingsong/.
Image Source: Qingsong, Wang. “Offerings .” Wang Qingsong Studio , Wang Qingsong , 2003, http://www.wangqingsong.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=83&Itemid=15. Accessed 2021.
