Interview: Xiong Wei, Edifices of Ephemerality

By Madeline Trice

Xiong Wei is a contemporary artist and sculptor based in Brooklyn NY. Wei creates three dimensional sculptural collages with a focus on raw materials and personally crafted components rather than found objects. His art deals with themes of violence, death, ephemerality, and interrogates frictions between Eastern and Western philosophies. Wei’s work has been exhibited at the Thomas Hunter Project Space at Hunter College, The Blanc Gallery, The Border Project, Latitude Gallery, Watchung Arts Center, and Shockboxx. This summer you can find Wei’s work in the AnkhLave House on Governors Island as part of the AnkhLave Art Alliance’s 2024 Garden Project Fellowship and you can visit Xiong Wei’s personal website for more information about the artist and his work.

(Trice) Given the mission set forth by AnkhLave, how do you feel your art works to catalyze discussions about diversity and inclusivity?

​(Wei) I feel that each person's upbringing and cultural background are unique, shaping our perceptions of the world and influencing our aesthetic preferences and interests. The differences that arise from this process are natural and inevitable. In the context of globalization, "marginal" cultures, relative to mainstream culture and perspectives, can simultaneously represent the mainstream within their own communities while also engaging in mutual influence, absorption, and integration with mainstream culture. As a cross-cultural artist, it is my natural responsibility to act as an interpreter, using art practice to provide feedback on the environment I inhabit and to serve the communities I represent. Every artist is an enclave, solitary, courageous, and avant-garde.

(Trice) Much of your work seems to interrogate, explore, or even challenge ideas of identity and perspective, especially the differences and frictions between Eastern and Western philosophies and ideologies. How has this negotiation of different ways of thinking influenced you personally and as an artist? 

(Wei) Eastern philosophy emphasizes introspection and self-awareness, while Western philosophy tends to focus on exploration and engagement of the external world. These contrasting philosophies have shaped different ecological environments and societal norms in East Asian and American societies, providing me with deeper insights and understanding in anthropology.

​When I first arrived in the States and became involved in discussions about identity, I felt bewildered. I didn't know under which identity label I should stand. I am not a Chinese American; How did I become categorized as "Yellow"? Should I consider myself as a visiting Chinese and do nothing in this trend? Six years have passed, and I no longer cling to concepts to define myself or others. I realize that regardless of culture, nationality, skin color, or ethnicity, humans share the fundamental commonality of being one of a species in the natural world. We live interconnected lives on Earth, and our destinies are intertwined. This realization is akin to my artwork Roasted Chickens, inspired by the mass-produced chickens sold at Costco for $4.99 each. Each chicken is an individual, yet no one really discerns their differences in detail. They are meat, a cheap source of protein, lives can be consumed, and commodities. In some way, they are just like us. The differences and similarities between Eastern and Western cultures have made me more open and inclusive. Through my artwork, I endeavor to convey a cross-cultural dialogue and understanding, exploring the shared human experiences and emotions. This is immensely valuable to me.

(Trice) While your art places an emphasis on crafted rather than found materials, you often utilize driftwood in your sculptures. Is there a particular significance to your usage of driftwood? 

(Wei) Driftwood fascinates me. It's like a remnant of life, an empty vessel, or a survivor. Trees grow from seeds, recording the energy of life within their own bodies. When they die, through decay and decomposition, they become a source of nourishment for surrounding life. Eventually, wood falls into rivers, carried by currents to the sea. As waves push them away from their origins, their destination becomes unknown, entirely dependent on external forces.

It’s like a metaphor for people’s lives – who survives, who perishes, who fights for life in a foreign land, who embarks on an adventure in a dangerous zone. I'm drawn to the profound sense that driftwood embodies.

(Trice) In your artist statement for “Chinatown is not Chinatown” you reflect on the subjective and ever-changing nature of what “China” is in contrast to the stagnated image of China apparent in Chinatown. How do you hope to influence this narrow and outdated picture with your work? How has this alienation from the American idea of China influenced you and your art? 

(Wei) The emotion is quite complex. When you find yourself in an unfamiliar environment, you unconsciously seek out a safe zone to settle into. However, soon you realize that this place you thought was familiar is not what you expected. It may even present itself with a relatively outdated, negative, or hostile attitude, leading you to realize that you may not belong there. This prompts you to reassess your relationship with the environment.

Manhattan's Chinatown has its own history. The area west of Bowery was originally established by Cantonese-speaking immigrants mostly came from Hong Kong and Guangdong, while Mandarin-speaking immigrants (mostly from Fujian) who arrived in the latter half of the 20th century settled mostly on the east side of Bowery. Discrimination from old immigrants towards new immigrants still exists today. Nowadays, Manhattan's Chinatown is gradually becoming a tourist attraction, so rejecting new things and actively serving stereotypical impressions of China seems necessary. From this perspective, Chinatown is not the China I knew, it cannot really represent China. But should we call it "Little Hong Kong" or "Little Fuzhou " then? Perhaps Chinatown is just itself, it's there, whether it changes or China changes.

(Trice) A number of your sculptures include different kinds of birds, even cooked ones. Do birds hold a particular meaning to you?

​(Wei) Most birds appear in our lives as bystanders and the weak, showing up in various corners of life but not particularly significant to us. However, a small number of powerful predators such as eagles and vultures are revered as deities in human civilization. For me, the roles of birds can parallel the social classes and statuses in human society. When discussing human issues, I tend to use birds as metaphors to introduce the cruelty inherent in natural laws that contradicts human civilization, lurking within us as remnants of our animal nature.

(Trice) You refer to your art as sculpture in space, but is there also an element of interactivity, even performance, to some of your work? 

(Wei) Yes, I strongly identify with the concept of art for the people. Art can never be excessively personal and subjective. If art is merely self-indulgent and fails to resonate emotionally with society and communities, then it becomes nothing more than a personal plaything or visual diary. My sculptures always use the bodily scale and share physical space with people. I believe that sculptures, instead of standing on pedestals in a traditional manner symbolizing an unequal relationship with humans, should be used like everyday objects such as chairs, blankets, and structures. Unlike the functionality required of everyday items, sculptures need to meet spiritual needs and provide different feelings and experiences to people in the space.

(Trice) A number of your works focus on themes of ephemerality, both by highlighting it, like in pieces such as “Whiskey Calligraphy” or “Ground Tenon” which by design degraded with time, or conversely by obstructing it, like in your more recent series of found objects and creatures that have been flattened by cars that you’ve then fossilized in ceramic. Would you say the idea of ephemerality is important to you and your work

(Wei) I increasingly feel the insignificance and preciousness of life, realizing that this is the rule of nature. Nothing is eternal—bees that will die in six weeks but tirelessly work from day one to the end, classmate who showed up after summer break with an artificial limb; cats whose owners look the same from its infancy to old age; Every passing person in our lives. Relative to the world, every life seems tiny, almost like a consumable item. Yet, the collective power of these lives shapes everything on this planet.

I think my fixation on ephemerality may stem from a macroscopic perspective of future archaeology. I often imagine a future where new, highly intelligent beings emerge on Earth after humanity's extinction. How would they perceive the civilization that once existed? I empathize with the individuals sacrificed for the sake of Earth's civilization, and celebrate the greatness of this civilization.

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