“Wu Se Tu,” a solo project by artist Liang Yuanwei, will open on November 17. 

Over the past month, Liang Yuanwei has gradually transformed the ceiling and walls of the living room at DRC No. 12, covering them entirely with carbon paper in five basic colors, as well as four combs and a number of circular pieces of paper. The title of her exhibition, “Wu Se Tu, ” refers to a literary supplement of the same name in the Beijing Evening News, a popular edition the artist has known since childhood. “Wu Se Tu,” which means “five-colored earth,” has deep cultural ties to her hometown of Beijing: the colored earth, spread over the top of the Altar of Earth and Harvests in Zhongshan Park, symbolized dominion over land and people. The concept was reinterpreted in the literary supplement to represent the diversity of literature; it is now being reimagined by the artist into a new painterly language for this project. 

Liang Yuanwei, whose practice consists mainly of painting, has long been interested in the structural relationship between painting and its surroundings—whether physical, historical, or cultural. “In each of my solo exhibitions, I have experimented with the connection between painting and its environment. This interest has led me, over the past decade, to conduct field research visiting murals from different civilizations and historical periods.” Now, Liang Yuanwei brings this exploration and experimentation to a uniquely situated apartment space, presenting what is to be DRC No. 12’s final exhibition at its current location.

Early in the preparation of this project, it became clear to us that the length of the exhibition would be uncertain due to unexpected changes in the lease agreement. Reflecting on this project, Liang Yuanwei notes,“No medium is naturally limited, but the human mind can be. Even in a space that is constantly shrinking and unstable, those unwilling to compromise can still use limited materials to convey boundless visions.”