JY

Born in 1958, JY is an artist of exceptional talent who, after coming to Japan and earning a doctorate in statistical physics called ‘osmosis’ and applying the results to his artistic activities, conducted repeated research in the Koji Kinutani Laboratory at Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, and created a new style of painting. JY’s achievements were highly acclaimed, and in 1992 he was selected for the Journey of Asian Contemporary Art exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art, Saitama, and is active internationally in the United States, Europe, China, and Japan as a representative artist of Asian contemporary art. JY has also analysed the mechanism of oriental art with modern mathematics through his research on ‘fractals’ and authored ‘Chinese Painting Dimensions,’ the first ever book to lay a mathematical foundation for oriental art.

Chinese philosopher, Zhuangzi’s ‘Carefree Excursion’ begins with a legend of the ‘Kun Peng’, and unfolds into a grandiose idea of the universe. ‘Carefree Excursion’ features mythical beasts like the Kun (a giant fish) and the Peng (a giant bird), as well as ordinary creatures like cicadas and turtle doves. From the perspective of Zhuangzi’s ‘Qiwulun’ (Equality of Things), it would not have been surprising if a leopard were to appear, said JY. Since ancient times, the leopard has been the subject of interest in literature, as exemplified by the Chinese proverb ‘wise men are quick to adapt like a leopard’. PAI Shih-Ming, Prof. at Department of Fine Arts, NTNU, observes that JY’s Carefree Excursion series is essentially a modern legend rich in the hue of autobiography, which is a visual text that fosters the fusion and juxtaposition of reality and folklore. It is not just a transcultural self-production constructed by JY in response to the environmental vicissitude to reflect the inclusive co-existence of multiple subjects, but also a mental solution in the state of diaspora that enables liberal movement, traversing betwixt nodes of places. In this instant, the leopard embodies the primitive ‘savagery’ dwelling deep within humanity, whereas the infinitely immense universe is the ‘civilisation’ yet to come beyond our reach. From ‘savagery’ to ‘civilisation,’ our adaptability to environmental vicissitude is not just evolution in biological form, but also the need for extraordinary imagination that defies physical order, realising an alternative ‘institutional change.’