Travel BC: Wu Ching Ru Installation Stuns Visitors
At the entrance to Phantom Creek Estates winery, visitors are awe-struck at two female figures, each seven metres tall, winged and poised to take flight but tethered to the earth by a slender waterfall of coated bronze.
Wu Ching Ru’s ‘Pro Terra et Natura’ towers above the lush terroir as a testament to her unwavering commitment to environmental awareness. This powerful installation, one of half a dozen worldwide, depicts two spirits of nature, mother and daughter, seeking a sanctuary to inhabit and their delicate connection to our planet.
“‘Pro Terra et Natura’ is the perfect first welcome to the winery,” said François Mateo, Managing Director of Phantom Creek. “It captures everything we’re about: it represents our commitment to creation, to art and culture, and to being careful stewards of this land. It speaks to our responsibility to the community and to what we aspire to accomplish, which is to transform the landscape by challenging the status quo.”
Wu, who is of aboriginal Taiwanese lineage, visited Canada and Phantom Creek Winery for the first time since the sculptures were installed in 2019. She feels they are well grounded against the natural, breathtaking backdrop of the Black Sage Bench. These sculptures, a significant part of Wu’s artistic journey, now stand as a testament to her growth and the culmination of her unique artistic vision.
“I have been yearning to visit Phantom Creek, to see the sculptures in person, their wings spread wide against the mesmerizing blue sky of the Valley, surrounded by the rich foliage and spectacular scenery,” said Wu. “I am very grateful that my creation has found its home here.”
PHANTOM CREEK RESIDENCY
In September 2023, Wu was in residence at the winery, drawing inspiration from its surroundings to create 20 individual collectible wine-box art pieces. This collaboration was a unique opportunity for Wu to immerse herself in the winery’s environment and create pieces that resonate with its essence.
Winery visitors could watch her work, and many took part in a special dinner to celebrate the artist’s passion, cultural diversity, fine wines and food, and the exciting new opportunities envisioned by the artist and the brand. Wu also designed and installed a floral arrangement to mark this exclusive collaboration.
“Emotions play an essential part in my work. Serenity, modesty, sadness, tranquillity, and joy feature prominently. I become entirely engrossed in my subject. I shut out the outside world, which, in oriental philosophy, is extremely important. Only when you can completely concentrate are you at peace with yourself.”
ORIGINS OF THE ARTIST
Wu Ching Ru, was born on 17 August 1961 in the urban township of Fenglin in the Huatung Valley of Eastern Taiwan. From childhood, she was taught the tribal traditions of her ancestors and, above all, the love and respect of all living things. Unsurprisingly, by the time Wu was 17, she had already developed a passion for flower arranging, emphasizing simplicity, elegance, and harmony. Her love and appreciation for the immense beauty of creation became the common link in each of her works. Driven by this passion, Wu studied design and oriental humanities.
Wu Ching Ru completed her studies in 1984 and married soon after. She then moved to the USA, where she stayed for two years. There, she began to express herself through painting and calligraphy while exploring the differences between Eastern and Western aesthetics. This contrast inspired Wu to create a new kind of oriental beauty.
In 1993, Wu moved to the Netherlands, where she studied Western sculpting and bronze casting. This was quickly followed by her first public exhibitions — held in Europe to great acclaim — and by 1996, Wu had decided to become a full-time sculptor and artist.
In 2002, Wu was signed by the prestigious Halcyon Gallery, London, in a relationship that lasted 20 years. These next decades were a whirlwind of creativity, with 50 solo shows throughout Europe and Asia. Today, Wu’s work can be found worldwide in private homes, gardens, public parks, and city squares.
Her artwork is in significant collections worldwide, including those established in the UK, the USA, continental Europe, the Middle East, and throughout Asia.
Multiple works are on permanent display in museums in China, and 12 monumental public sculptures have been installed on three continents.
While the subject of Wu’s work reflects her passion for Asian history, legend and religion, her process is deeply influenced by it, too.
“I become entirely engrossed in my subject. I shut out the outside world, which, in oriental philosophy, is extremely important. Only when you can completely concentrate are you at peace with yourself.”
Wu Ching Ru’s international journey and feelings of displacement are often present in her work, creating a communication bridge between East and West. This personal connection is apparent in her art, engaging the audience and fostering a sense of connection.
A beautiful manifestation of this is Wu’s ‘Fountain of Blessings,’ a public installation in Xintiandi Shanghai that merges oriental tradition and myth with Western techniques. This sculpture group has become one of the most photographed in China.
Other works, her ‘Mother and Child’ bronzes, celebrate motherhood while also touching on the orphan’s feelings, reflecting on her childhood and a career that has taken her far from home.
Since 2008, Wu has lived and worked mainly in Shanghai. In 2011, her creation ‘Pro Terra et Natura’ was selected for public placement in Lu Jia Zhui Central Park, located in Shanghai’s financial district. The thirteen-metre-high installation was chosen from over 1,000 proposals to be placed in the green oasis at the base of three of the most imposing skyscrapers in China. ‘Pro Terra et Natura’ features two winged mythical figures, representing earth and nature, their grace and placement demonstrating their delicate relationship with our world amidst the deterioration of our natural environment.
The installation of these two sculptures coincided with major exhibitions of Wu’s work in China. The monumental work is now recognized as an official landmark of the city. Drawing on her lifetime love of nature, ‘Pro Terra et Natura’ captures serenity, hope, and harmony to convey its important message of environmental conservation through its monumental form.
This recognition of Wu’s art did not make her complacent. Starting in 2012, Wu took inspiration from Zen philosophy to create works that capture the pursuit of enlightenment and the search for the true self, free from modern life’s distractions. Her perception of Zen is not necessarily religious but rather an identity and principles that guide her on a profoundly personal level.
This philosophy is represented in her body of work, ‘Beyond Zen,’ featured in Halcyon Gallery’s 2017 summer exhibition, Water and Bronze. Each art piece skillfully captures the intangible concept of the spiritual journey in bronze’s hard and unpredictable material.
That same year, during the 2017 BRICS international relations summit in Xiamen, China, the Chinese government brought together a collection of outstanding works covering the last 800 years of Chinese art.
The collection featured Wu’s 1.5 metre bronze sculpture ‘Endless,’ from the ‘Beyond Zen’ series, a natural choice to capture the continuous evolution of the oriental tradition and aesthetic for modern times.
It was during these last busy years that Wu experienced life-threatening health issues and was hospitalized for an extended period in her native city, Hualien. After a lengthy recovery period at a mountain retreat, Wu Ching Ru and her family decided to stay. Wu now works from her studio in the mountains near where she grew up.
Amidst the beauty of nature at her home, she is in the midst of a new chapter of environmental awareness and protection programme featuring additional beautiful sculptures and global installations.
“My only art teacher is the creator; my only inspirational source are his creations. When the mind is pure, that is where you can find amazing beauty; In my works, I endeavour to capture my appreciation for these wonders.”
“It’s the quieting of self that opens the eye of the creative. It’s the return to the soul that allows us to hear what is all around.”
Read the original version of Wu Ching Ru in Folio.YVR Luxury Lifestyle Magazine flippable version below!
