Boers-Li: Chen Yujun and Chen Yufan

I went to Boers-Li to see XueFeng's painting exhibition.  To my surprise I saw this exhibition in their downstairs Gallery.  Hannah was super nice and showed me all around the exhibition.  

Mulan River Project
Chen Yujun and Chen Yufan

'Mulan River Project' is a comprehensive installation by the artists and brothers Chen Yufan and Chen Yujun, which began to develop over four years ago as a collaborative research project into the history of their cultural heritage. The title refers to the mother river in their home town of Putian, and thus the creative source of their collaboration. Their multi-disciplinary approach to art practice allowed them to navigate their ideas through a variety of mediums with the current installation comprising of intricate abstract painting, sculptures and layered topographical constructions.
The centrepiece of the installation pays homage to the river and navigates the viewer through their interaction with the artists' skillfully assembled works and constructions. The artworks seem to take root in the gallery space: intricate paintings crawl up the walls like vines, hand carved sculptures tower above you on stilted legs, while cardboard and wooden landscapes rise from the floor, as if formed by layers of deposited psychological strata, transforming the gallery space into a new environment reminiscent of the dark innocence and intimacy of a childhood hide-away in a folk storybook.
Originally intended as a process to maintain a visual communication between the two, over time it became evident there was something much more significant and ephemeral occurring as a result of this process. Through a series of discussions about their work the artists saw the project as an exploration of their own lives, processes and history, in both a personal and artistic sense. The reclaiming of natural materials in their structures reflects an authenticity to their hometown, while also highlighting the significance of the intricate handcraft which goes into each piece. The evidence of their process and rapport with the materials is vital to the core value of the work which acts as a physical and psychological archive of their shared history and current collaborations. Architectural references drawn from their youth in their native province remain a strong influence in much of the aesthetics of the work and encapsulate the artists' reverence and nostalgia for a passing time in both their personal and national history.

Chen Yufan and Chen Yujun were born in Putian, and now live and work in Hangzhou.