Zhu Zhu: Do these grouped figures mean that you have reached a terminal juncture of the virgin phase, and that you are deliberately turning your gaze toward other people?
Xiang Jing: Definitely. In my series of 2002 I was already turning my gaze toward other people, but the feeling was still within the scope of my own experience; it still relied on the crutch of personal experience, and the thoughts were always concentric. My later creative work has been concerned with group dynamics. Each piece in “Keep in Silence” was conceived as part of a series. I originally planned on doing a few dozen figures, but there was no time to complete them. From that experience I understood the importance of a plan: it can help you convey your thoughts level-by-level.
Zhu Zhu: Did these groups of figures take the female body as a starting point?
Xiang Jing: It was there in “Keep in Silence”, but not completely. At first I did not have much feel for the body as language... But then my way of understanding the world changed, and I realized how to aim my art at certain issues.
Zhu Zhu: Why did this become your point of departure for seeing and expression?
Xiang Jing: One way or another, growing up brings recognition of the outside world. At an early stage I resisted without knowing how to resist. It was merely sacrificing oneself, letting precious and things go up in smoke together with worthless things, to little effect. Later I understood more about the world and its power structures, so there was more pointedness.
Zhu Zhu: Do you mean the body’s referentiality toward the world?
Xiang Jing: The body can be a statement which demonstrates some kind of relation between a group and the larger world. The body is the part of oneself that has natural attributes, but within the social power structure they are not merely natural. Its power can be exerted like a double-edged sword; that is, one draws on encompassing habits of seeing to challenge