Forest Spirits
乡野精灵
旗山侠隐, inspired by Ang Lee’s iconic film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, is a hidden gem nestled deep within the mountains of Zhejiang Province, China. At the dawn of 2025, to welcome the Chinese New Year, CUCKOONESS arrived in this serene village and unveiled an exhibition in what might be the smallest yet most charming art museum in the area. Remarkably, this museum was once the village kitchen, with its wood-fired stove still lovingly preserved as a relic of its past. Through this exhibition, we hope to ignite a new chapter of collaboration between CUCKOONESS and 旗山侠隐, blending tradition with artistic innovation in this enchanting site.
旗山侠隐的灵感源自李安的经典电影《卧虎藏龙》，它是深藏在中国浙江省群山之中的一颗瑰宝。2025年伊始，为庆祝中国新年，CUCKOONESS来到这个静谧的村庄，在村里可能是最小却也最别具韵味的乡野美术馆中举办了一场展览。令人惊喜的是，这座美术馆的前身竟是一间村里的老厨房，至今仍保留着完好的柴火灶台，承载着浓厚的历史记忆。通过这次展览，我们希望开启CUCKOONESS与旗山侠隐合作的新篇章，在这个充满魅力的地方将传统与艺术创新融为一体。
The Eternal Childlike Spirit
Almost all genius artists, from Picasso to Van Gogh, have longed to perceive and express the world with the innocence and wonder of a child. I’m not sure if Zhang Xinyi is a genius artist, but when I first met her and spoke with her in Qishan, her slow, deliberate way of narrating things, as if starting everything from scratch, left a deep impression on me. When I saw her works, I became convinced that within her inner world resides an eternal, lies a childlike spirit that will never grow up.
Zhang Xinyi’s upbringing is similar to that of some children from Shenzhen—moving from Shenzhen to Hong Kong, and later to London. She began exploring art at Shenzhen’s Xiaoyan Art Academy. Beyond learning some basic knowledge and techniques, she spent most of her time in solitude, quietly daydreaming. Yet, it was in this silence that her stream of consciousness surged like a roaring river. Most of her works are natural records of this process—a free-flowing stream of imagination and emotions guiding her brushes and ceramics across the vast fields of creativity. That eternal childlike spirit runs freely in her heart, always roaming in her childhood no matter how far it travels.
Whether it’s the “In My Dream I am Infinite” or the “Bum Bums Swallow the Universe”, Zhang Xinyi’s works exude an unmistakable sense of childlike wonder, combined with playful colors and charming forms. This makes her art approachable, free of pressure, and effortlessly lovable. Yet, as you delve deeper into the daydreams of these clumsy creatures, you may feel a child’s sense of powerlessness. The freedoms hidden within dreams, the desires embodied in these little monsters, gently reflect the struggles of adulthood. Thankfully, it always returns to childhood—where neither her own words nor others’ will ever truly count. It’s as though everything from childhood is forgiven, but perhaps, isn’t that the self we’ve lost along the way?
The works in this exhibition are mostly from Zhang Xinyi’s creations over the past few years. While the original pieces are still on display in other countries, this show serves as an introduction to her residency at Qishan beginning in 2025. in this coming autumn, we eagerly look forward to seeing Zhang Xinyi’s Qishan, and the Zhang Xinyi within Qishan.
永远不会长大的精灵
从毕加索到梵高几乎所有天才型的艺术家都渴望自己可以一直象孩子一样感知和表达世界。我不知道张心怡是不是一个天才型的艺术家，但我第一次在旗山见到她和她交流时，她缓慢和一切都要从头开始的叙述方式就让我印象深刻。当我看到她的作品时，我确信她的内心世界里有一个永远都不会长大小精灵。
张心怡的成长经历和一部分深圳的孩子一样，从深圳到香港再到伦敦。她在深圳的小燕画院开始接触艺术，除了学习一些基本知识和技法，她更多的时间是用来独处和静静发呆。然而正是在这种静默中她的意识流却如同一条河流波涛汹涌。她的大部分作品都是这种意识流过程自然而然的记录，它没有预设的路径任由想象和情感的流动力牵引，带着她的彩笔和陶瓷行走于创作的原野和大地。而那个永远不会长大的精灵一直在她的心里自由奔跑，但不管跑了多久都还在童年里。
无论是 “在我的梦里中，我无边无际”，还是 “吞下宇宙的笨笨”，张心怡的作品里都有一种显而易见的童趣，和讨人喜欢的色彩和造型，这让她的作品在与人沟通时没有压迫感，你会不自觉地爱上他们。然而细细品味笨笨们的白日梦你也会有一种孩子的无力感。那些要隐藏在梦里的自由，寄托在小怪物身上的欲望，轻轻折射出成年人的困境。好在终归是童年，自己和别人都不会把小时候的童言当真，仿佛童年的一切都可以是不算数的，其实这是不是那个走丢了的自己呢？
这次展览的作品大都是张心怡过去几年的创作，原作还在其它国家展览，因为这只是张心怡2025年开始驻留旗山的一个引子，我们更期待在今年的秋天，看到张心怡的旗山，看到旗山里的张心怡。
-----乐领生活 罗雷
2025.1.23
Catagory: Exhibition
Location: Lishui, Zhejiang Province, CHina
Year: 2025
乡野精灵
旗山侠隐, inspired by Ang Lee’s iconic film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, is a hidden gem nestled deep within the mountains of Zhejiang Province, China. At the dawn of 2025, to welcome the Chinese New Year, CUCKOONESS arrived in this serene village and unveiled an exhibition in what might be the smallest yet most charming art museum in the area. Remarkably, this museum was once the village kitchen, with its wood-fired stove still lovingly preserved as a relic of its past. Through this exhibition, we hope to ignite a new chapter of collaboration between CUCKOONESS and 旗山侠隐, blending tradition with artistic innovation in this enchanting site.
旗山侠隐的灵感源自李安的经典电影《卧虎藏龙》，它是深藏在中国浙江省群山之中的一颗瑰宝。2025年伊始，为庆祝中国新年，CUCKOONESS来到这个静谧的村庄，在村里可能是最小却也最别具韵味的乡野美术馆中举办了一场展览。令人惊喜的是，这座美术馆的前身竟是一间村里的老厨房，至今仍保留着完好的柴火灶台，承载着浓厚的历史记忆。通过这次展览，我们希望开启CUCKOONESS与旗山侠隐合作的新篇章，在这个充满魅力的地方将传统与艺术创新融为一体。
The Eternal Childlike Spirit
Almost all genius artists, from Picasso to Van Gogh, have longed to perceive and express the world with the innocence and wonder of a child. I’m not sure if Zhang Xinyi is a genius artist, but when I first met her and spoke with her in Qishan, her slow, deliberate way of narrating things, as if starting everything from scratch, left a deep impression on me. When I saw her works, I became convinced that within her inner world resides an eternal, lies a childlike spirit that will never grow up.
Zhang Xinyi’s upbringing is similar to that of some children from Shenzhen—moving from Shenzhen to Hong Kong, and later to London. She began exploring art at Shenzhen’s Xiaoyan Art Academy. Beyond learning some basic knowledge and techniques, she spent most of her time in solitude, quietly daydreaming. Yet, it was in this silence that her stream of consciousness surged like a roaring river. Most of her works are natural records of this process—a free-flowing stream of imagination and emotions guiding her brushes and ceramics across the vast fields of creativity. That eternal childlike spirit runs freely in her heart, always roaming in her childhood no matter how far it travels.
Whether it’s the “In My Dream I am Infinite” or the “Bum Bums Swallow the Universe”, Zhang Xinyi’s works exude an unmistakable sense of childlike wonder, combined with playful colors and charming forms. This makes her art approachable, free of pressure, and effortlessly lovable. Yet, as you delve deeper into the daydreams of these clumsy creatures, you may feel a child’s sense of powerlessness. The freedoms hidden within dreams, the desires embodied in these little monsters, gently reflect the struggles of adulthood. Thankfully, it always returns to childhood—where neither her own words nor others’ will ever truly count. It’s as though everything from childhood is forgiven, but perhaps, isn’t that the self we’ve lost along the way?
The works in this exhibition are mostly from Zhang Xinyi’s creations over the past few years. While the original pieces are still on display in other countries, this show serves as an introduction to her residency at Qishan beginning in 2025. in this coming autumn, we eagerly look forward to seeing Zhang Xinyi’s Qishan, and the Zhang Xinyi within Qishan.
永远不会长大的精灵
从毕加索到梵高几乎所有天才型的艺术家都渴望自己可以一直象孩子一样感知和表达世界。我不知道张心怡是不是一个天才型的艺术家，但我第一次在旗山见到她和她交流时，她缓慢和一切都要从头开始的叙述方式就让我印象深刻。当我看到她的作品时，我确信她的内心世界里有一个永远都不会长大小精灵。
张心怡的成长经历和一部分深圳的孩子一样，从深圳到香港再到伦敦。她在深圳的小燕画院开始接触艺术，除了学习一些基本知识和技法，她更多的时间是用来独处和静静发呆。然而正是在这种静默中她的意识流却如同一条河流波涛汹涌。她的大部分作品都是这种意识流过程自然而然的记录，它没有预设的路径任由想象和情感的流动力牵引，带着她的彩笔和陶瓷行走于创作的原野和大地。而那个永远不会长大的精灵一直在她的心里自由奔跑，但不管跑了多久都还在童年里。
无论是 “在我的梦里中，我无边无际”，还是 “吞下宇宙的笨笨”，张心怡的作品里都有一种显而易见的童趣，和讨人喜欢的色彩和造型，这让她的作品在与人沟通时没有压迫感，你会不自觉地爱上他们。然而细细品味笨笨们的白日梦你也会有一种孩子的无力感。那些要隐藏在梦里的自由，寄托在小怪物身上的欲望，轻轻折射出成年人的困境。好在终归是童年，自己和别人都不会把小时候的童言当真，仿佛童年的一切都可以是不算数的，其实这是不是那个走丢了的自己呢？
这次展览的作品大都是张心怡过去几年的创作，原作还在其它国家展览，因为这只是张心怡2025年开始驻留旗山的一个引子，我们更期待在今年的秋天，看到张心怡的旗山，看到旗山里的张心怡。
-----乐领生活 罗雷
2025.1.23
Catagory: Exhibition
Location: Lishui, Zhejiang Province, CHina
Year: 2025
