Xixi Qian

Xixi Qian's work portrays a botanical punk world, reflecting an alternative culture that transcends social norms and creates a unique spiritual utopia. She explores the social dynamics of China's second-tier cities, employing rhizomes and fungal habits in her artistic practice. From both macro and micro perspectives, she interprets the relationships between socioeconomic culture, her parents, neighbors, and generations.

Technically, she utilizes contrasting techniques such as etching and aquatint to depict the controllable and uncontrollable nature of printmaking. She perceives printmaking as a symbiotic relationship between machines and people.

In her series of vibrating strings, she delves into a microscopic exploration of utopia, drawing inspiration from the cooperative bond between legumes and rhizobia. She creates a botanical punk world where plants thrive in the mountains and rivers of her hometown—Yandang Mountain and Nanxi River—complementing each other harmoniously. Through her work set against the backdrop of her hometown, Wenzhou, she highlights the imbalanced economy and culture that have emerged from rapid industrial development over the past two decades. Furthermore, she emphasizes the vital role of cultural development in tandem with economic growth.

Xixi's research draws influence from Deleuze and Guattari's "A Thousand Plateaus," a book exploring non-linear, polycentric, and non-hierarchical thinking and social structures. Anthropologist Xiang Biao, also from Wenzhou, provides additional anthropological insights into the city's characteristics and transformations. Incorporating these perspectives, Xixi examines her encounters and relationship with society.