Conversation with: Cai Yujie
Tell us about yourself and where your passion for sculpting started
When I was a child, I loved these sculptures even though I didn’t understand the concept of “sculpture”. I only knew that it was typical in Leizhou Shigou, my hometown. The expression of the stone dog is very peaceful and anthropomorphic, cute and fierce at the same time.
It was not until the Academy of Fine Arts that I was able to better understand the concept of sculpture. As a student of guided art and Western sculpture from China, I am passionate about such scenes and use them as inspiration.
Where do you get your inspiration from?
My creative inspiration comes from my hometown of Leizhou, the southernmost tip of mainland China. Leizhou culture continues the cultural customs of the ancient Han nationality, worships totem spiritual beliefs, and they have mysterious sacrificial ceremonies to strengthen their bond with ancestors, maintain clan unity, resist the impact of modern secularism, and strengthen Leizhou’s regional cultural characteristics.
Therefore, the Leizhou stone sculptures such as Leizhou stone dog and Leizhou stone man statues should be studied in terms of creative modelling language, and the mysterious folk culture of Leizhou in terms of subject matter, such as: Leizhou people’s dragon dance, piercing arrows, turning thorns The bed, the knife ladder, and praying for rain were studied. Then look for the similarities and differences between the two for creative transformation.
What do you want to share about your culture through your sculptures?
Based on this group of sculptures, the creation mainly comes from our local folk culture. Therefore, I would like to share with you the uniqueness and mystery of Leizhou culture, which is influenced by the natural historical environment and economy.
Leizhou’s culture may not be as widely recognized as other cultures. But in the past, Leizhou was known as the land of the southern barbarians. Many literati and writers were exiled here, and they also brought spiritual nutrients from different regional cultures to this place. This contributed to the making of profound, complex and diverse cultural characteristics.
For example, the dragon dance of Leizhou people not only inherits and develops the Chinese culture with the dragon totem as the core spread from the Yellow River Basin in the Central Plains. At the same time, it also preserves and purifies the Leizhou culture represented by the local stone dog totem. But some folk cultures have great controversy in the outside world. Such as piercing arrows and climbing knife ladders, these folk cultures are considered to be endowed with divine power. Full of fearless power.
It is a symbol of maintaining ethnic unity. The reason why these folk cultures can continue to this day is the essence passed down from generation to generation. Therefore, my sculptures choose a form and material that is in line with the locality to express and inherit the local characteristics. Of course, before this creation, I tried many techniques and forms (as shown in the pictures). These two works are both sculptural transformations of Leizhou culture.
What does your work process look like?
Return to our local area to conduct field research, visit local museums and folk handicraft halls, learn more about the local human history, and consult relevant historical materials. Extract relevant elements from it, and create creations based on the professional knowledge learned in the Academy of Fine Arts. In-depth understanding of the characteristics, materials and functions of Leizhou stone carvings, and then create creations with the materials that you have mastered, first imitating the modelling language and characteristics of Leizhou stone carvings.
Then create. Finally, go to the stone factory to find the stone corresponding to the Leizhou stone carving for cutting, opening and carving.
Why do you think it’s important to be involved in the digital world? How do you digitise your sculptures?
Because the digital world can restore the past as much as possible to the present. In the past, the folk sculptures of some tribes were not easily accessible to the outside world, but now the digital world has emerged. It may be rediscovered and inherited, so that more people know the existence of folk sculptures. So I think the digital world may become an important medium for the dissemination and preservation of folk art sculptures in the future. I generally like to convert the data obtained from my investigation into a three-dimensional space, and then perform a 3D scan to save the data for later modification and preservation and share it with those in need. This is the value of digital sculpture.
When did you find out about Scan The World and where do you see its importance for sculptors just like you?
I discovered the scanning world under the guidance of Mr. Zheng Min. At school, Mr. Zheng Min highly praised some western sculptures in the scanning world for us to learn from. I think that scanning the world can make me experience the charm of western sculptures more intuitively. Can find some pictures to study. But now in the scanning world, there are 3D models of sculptures such as Western ancient Greece available for download and printing, allowing us to get close to the works of the masters. I can better experience the difference between Chinese and Western sculptures. On the platform of Scan World, I can not only appreciate the works of others, but also share my own works on this platform. It is very important for the current cultural exchange
What would you like to say to Scan The World’s community?
Scan the World is a very good sharing platform, I hope more sculptors will participate, and I hope to find more mysterious sculptures and cultures in Scan the World, and I also hope Scan the World can tap more regional and unique features of culture for data preservation and sharing. Looking forward to the scanning world getting better and better.
