ANUSMAN

The title of the exhibition carries a playful, even slightly comic tone. It is also a homophone for the phrase He Tao Su (和陶苏). The term He Tao originates from a special poetic form by Su Dongpo¹: He Tao poems (和陶诗)— responses to the works of Tao Yuanming². For Su Dongpo, “He Tao” was often a way of seeking comfort. During the years of his repeated exiles, when life was poor and he was forced to rely on friends’ support while farming and cooking for himself, one evening he overheard his son reading Tao Yuanming’s lines: “By mistake I fell into the net of dust, and thirty years have passed.” Su quickly realized that this was precisely the unspoken truth he had always carried. From then on, he began writing his own responses to Tao. These He poems (和诗) became a dialogue across time and space — between Su Dongpo and Tao Yuanming, and equally between Su and his own inner self.

In his darkest circumstances, Su Dongpo found Tao Yuanming, and through ancient words he found direction and a way of seeing life. Inspired by this, artist anusman extends the idea of He Tao once more: through painting, he creates a conversation spanning a thousand years between Tao Yuanming, Su Dongpo, and himself.

In his life and readings, anusman senses an echo between himself and these two predecessors. The confusions and frustrations of life, the intrigues of bureaucracy, the noise of the marketplace and the quiet of the woods, the trivial moments of everyday life — all convince him that, in terms of human inner feelings, little has changed between ancient times and today. From this he draws insights and records them. Among his notes, he once wrote passages such as: “For example, standing on a bridge watching the sunset, as the wind blows, one suddenly feels very small. Yet home is just across the bridge, only a few steps away. It seems contradictory, but in fact it fits perfectly. It’s like suddenly discovering a new way of thinking — understanding the meaning of ‘saving’.” Or, during his difficult days he wrote: “One day it struck me: I had already been stuck in this for five years.” Then he wondered: “If parallel worlds really exist, then is there another me still trapped in those five years? Is he still suffering? If I could speak to him, I would say: ‘I’m living quite well now. If you like, you can come here too.’ Would he feel happy hearing that? I think he would.”

The images in this exhibition draw from the lives, notes, and poetic fragments of these three figures. anusman believes that the words and imagery of the ancients do not vanish; rewriting their lives in painting is not only a response to history but also a commentary on the present. The works remind us that human experience has not changed — ancient and modern alike share the same struggles and hopes. As anusman himself writes: “I once read that things which have died do not truly disappear – they simply take another form in this world. And the ‘world,’ after all, is not only what we think it is. So I believe that beyond the poems and writings left behind, much of Su Dongpo still lingers in this world. They may take the form of a leaf, or a beam of light. When the moment is right, he will appear to chat with you.”

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anusman (Wang Shuo, b.1984) is an artist, and graphic novelist. He is widely recognized as China’s first scholar of comic theory. He received his BFA in Printmaking from the Academy of Arts & Design, Tsinghua University in 2007; his MFA in Comics from the École Européenne Supérieure de l’Image in Angoulême, France, in 2012; and his PhD in Design from the School of Design, Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA) in 2017.

He has published dozens of comic books, including the best-selling Mr. Door. His previous solo exhibitions include: He Tao Su — anusman’s Three Years, Tabula Rasa Gallery (Beijing, 2025); Xiong Yi, Tabula Rasa Gallery (Beijing, 2022); Market Street — anusman’s One Year, Tabula Rasa Gallery (Beijing, 2019); Joy of Ink, WKLY (China, 2017); and Ignoramus, Tabula Rasa Gallery (Beijing, 2017). anusman has published dozens of comic books, including the latest SHI JING (2025), Celestial Cat (2023), Wordless Comics (2022), Elsewhere (2019), and Mr. Door (2017). He has also contributed to a number of renowned magazines in China and abroad. His works are in the collections of several international art museums, including Musée de la bande dessinée, Angoulême, France.

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1. Su Dongpo (1037–1101), also known as Su Shi, was a leading poet, writer, and statesman of the Song dynasty. Renowned for his literary achievements as well as his turbulent political career and repeated exiles, he is remembered for his openness, humor, and humanistic spirit.

2. Tao Yuanming (365–427), also known as Tao Qian, was one of the most important poets of early Chinese literature. Famous for his reclusive life and writings about nature, farming, and wine, he became a symbol of integrity and simplicity in Chinese cultural tradition.