ACTOR—GROUP
像兵马俑一般 LIKE A TERRACOTTA ARMY
Like a Terracotta Army
When I was standing face to face with that mighty host of terracotta warriors in Xian, little did I realise that, some years later, I myself would be forming figures in clay and, in doing so, replicating the process by which I believe this ancient army was conjured forth.
I use just one single mould for virtually all of my characters, pressing the clay into it to create a prototype. I then work each of these figures individually. It's a fairly simple process, in other words. Much like the way in which we humans are created. Very much so.
I change the shape of the hollows between the eyes and nose. Some of the figures are given deep concavities, others have none at all. Some have cupid's bow lips, others don't. Basically, it's quite rational as a creative system. What I aiming to do is to breathe individuality into each and every face - although the idea of forming these figures to epitomise a particular age, gender or ethnicity never enters my mind.
Anyway, I was at my workbench in Jingdezhen one day when I had this sudden eureka moment! Of course, this must have been how they, too, were created. All those terracotta soldiers. In a way, the process shares something in common with how real-life soldiers are also formed. That work, however, is the direct opposite of my own creative endeavours.
像兵马俑一般
在西安，当我面对面地站在雄伟的兵马俑面前时，我根本没有预料到，过些年后我会自己用粘土进行创作，并且，以同样的程序制作这些古老的兵马俑。
我仅用一个模具制作了几乎所有的陶瓷人--将粘土挤进模具里面，做成原型。然后，我对这些人物逐个加工。其实，这是个非常简单的过程，很像我们人类被创造的方式。的确很像 。
我改变眼睛和鼻子之间的空旷地段。有些陶瓷人被赋予了内凹的形态，有些则不然。有些有丘比特的弓型的嘴唇，有的则没有。实质上，这种创作方法很理性。我的目的是将个性植入每张面孔里面，虽然我从来没想到用这些小人来代表某个特殊时代、性别或者民族
无论如何，有一天，我在景德镇自己的工作椅上，突然产生了一个"尤里卡"时刻。当然，这肯定也是兵马俑产生的原因--所以，在一定意义上，这些兵马俑诞生的过程与活生生的士兵有一些相似之处。那些工作则是我自己创造性发挥的反面反应。
