[Thirty-Six Heavenly Stars]

Thirty-Six Heavenly Stars
三十六星之

Painted in white, the ‘Thirty-six heavenly stars’ of the Water Margins series have been reinterpreted in a state of infancy as they lie asleep adjacent to the unceasing flowing course of events in time while strokes of colours get dappled onto each of these individual characters.

As the old adage goes, infants have commonly been described to be ‘a blank piece of paper’ throughout history and yet, this piece of blank paper also represents one that will be continually filled up through living experience like the unceasing flow of the water margins.

By reframing the thirty-six archetypes that the ‘Thirty-six heavenly stars’ have come to represent in the ‘Water Margins’ series here as contemporary figures, the body of work hopes to provide a platform for the further digging of the classic ‘Water Margins’ underpinning’s historical, societal and traditional value that it has come to represent as moulded throughout history by society.

‘Thirty-six heavenly stars” is thereby a celebration of brotherhood, loyalty and friendship in an age where corruption, abuse of power, and the suppression of voices are rife and hopes to inspire its audience to tap into ancient wisdom to respond to contemporary problems.

朱立维