Constructions of Internality – Discussions on Xiang Jing's Works

Xiang Jing x Daniel Cohen x Zhu Zhu:

Daniel: Ready-made labels like “Chinese artist” or “Feminist artist” seem particularly ill suited to characterizing Xiang Jing’s relationship to her work. What do you see as the possible dangers or value of such labels with respect to her artistic practice?

Zhu Zhu: Put simply, such labels are mere classifications expected by critics and curators. Of course, there are some artists willing to be labelled in this way as such labelling may constitute a kind of phenomenon or form; a small collective force that is seen in a sense as being capable of adding some influences to their creations. However, I think that real artists are often highly personal and they are less willing to be classified or defined through such collective phenomenon. In our current age, personal or individual creation has increasingly become a matter of a comparative tendency in which previously over-labelled approaches to comment and classification to a great extent have been gradually eliminated. Whether referring to an artist herself or the perspective of criticism, I think they slowly get rid of such simple approaches to classification. In my experience it has become increasing accepted that every artist is specific and different in such a way that it is very difficult for her singularity to be completely expressed or exhausted by a label.

Xiang Jing: All kinds of definitions or labels given to you certainly lag behind your creations. Basically, I can’t stop or control how others define my works or attach such and such labels to me. While such labels may not really be all that meaningful in terms of my inner creative process, they play an important role in the reception of my work. Irrespective of whether labels or definitions originate from historical or individual judgments, they have the ability to attach themselves to your work invariably influencing the future impressions of one’s artistic practice whether you like it or not. Despite the inevitability of labelling, I think that what is most important is for each creator to individually choose which path to follow and how to take one step at a time, moving forward little by little.
Because all the labels and definitions given to me simply describe one aspect of my practice, I hope to produce works that are capable of expressing more