Foreword: Xiang Jing’s works had huge influence in recent years both home and abroad, and have accordingly raised discussions and criticisms. There even exist disputes when it comes to the acknowledgement and positioning of her artistic creation, which also provides us a chance to look into some aspects of contemporary art.
PART ONE: THE PARADOX OF FEMINISM
Wang Chunchen: After reading various criticisms about Xiang Jing, I felt that people tend to talk of her works from various angles, such as language, personal feelings, experiences, the morality of the artist, and the levels of public acceptance. Although they see her work from different perspectives, there are always something that they cannot get around, such as body and feminism. Thus, we hope to find out certain questions through this assembled discussion, to make out a certain direction, so as to dialogue with her or challenge her from our owm perspectives. Contemporary art always emphasizes not only language and form, but also the broader cultural and social background behind.
Hang Chun Xiao: That is the Problématiques of contemporary art.
Zhai Jing: I think we cannot disperse our questions too much. Focusing on some central topics will help to make in-depth discussions.
Wei Xing: You may raise a question first for us to start. What interests you most?
Zhai Jing: The most interesting thing for me right now is: what on earth is the attitude of Xiang Jing towards feminism? I think your attitude is pretty ambiguous: on one hand, you said this exhibition is a conclusion of feminism and your final reference to this issue; while on the other hand, you don’t see yourself as a feminist. So, what’s your attitude towards feminism after all?
Xiang Jing: First of all, I’ve never declared this exhibition a conclusion of feminism. However since so many people asked me about the relationship of my works to feminism, I started to think about this relationship. But in fact I am more interested in human nature. And I am only interested in this, because being alive is something of big importance. I haven’t particularly studied feminism, and I feel this concept something existing within the logics of western culture.