Art Plural Gallery has devoted its entire two-storey space to a showcase exhibition of works by the Chinese artist Qiu Jie- and what an expansive treat to the eyes indeed.

In a departure from the strident images one would normally associate with the Cultural Revolution, Qiu Jie incorporates Maoist references in his work almost softly. Playing on the Chinese word for ‘cat’ (‘Mao’), Qiu Jie uses an anthropomorphised cat to depict the figure of Mao Zedong. This ‘Mao’ figure gazes out directly- if you listen hard enough, you can almost hear a soft, inviting, seductive purr.

One of the current works on exhibit, The New Long March, sweeps across a wall of the gallery. Using pencil on paper, Qiu Jie created this large-scale work one grid at a time. The finished artwork is an assemblage of these grids, astonishing in its scale and detail. Like a jigsaw puzzle, Qiu Jie’s art pieces together an intriguing story.

Qiu Jie himself admits the tragic force and immensity of the Cultural Revolution; at once to be denied and yet which cannot be forgotten. Yet he softens the punches by imbuing his work with an irreverent playfulness, a tongue-in-cheek humour that elicits instead a wry smile.

Playful, serious, acerbic, timeless, sensual, realist, transcendent – these qualities (and perhaps you may find more) combine to give a soft power to Qiu Jie’s work.

September 2013
Words for Esquire Singapore
Images courtesy of Art Plural Gallery