Some people stand by the Bund in Shanghai, watching the wind and clouds flow along the Huangpu River.
Some people walk through the streets and alleys just to find a piece of silence in the bustling city.
Some people come to Shanghai just to get a glimpse of the exquisite daily life of Shanghai people at night.
Some people come to Shanghai just to collect all the good-looking seals in the country.
It’s as if it’s not just a simple destination, but also a place where many people go to find their spirit and soul.
The flagship shop of Duoyun Books on the 52nd floor of Shanghai Centre Tower and the moody and story-filled Duoyun Drama Shop on Changle Road satisfy most people’s image of Shanghai.
There are many ways to unlock a bookstore in Shanghai. At the turn of summer and autumn in 2023 (5th August – 5th November), Duoyun Books has invited the artist LEGO LIANG to open up more diversified possibilities in the city through such exhibitions at its flagship store and drama store.
Under the theme of “HE HE HE HE”, the exhibition presents more than a hundred paintings and artworks of different types and sizes by LEGO LIANG from different periods of time. The word “HE HE HE HE” is originally a simple expression of inner pleasure, but in the age of the Internet, it has gradually evolved into a meaningful meaning, which seems to be an understatement, but is actually extremely lethal; the word “HE HE HE HE” is taken from the name of the artist himself, which is essentially an exhibition with a self-deprecating nature. In essence, this is an exhibition of self-deprecating nature.
From traditional Chinese ink and wash, to western oil paintings with rich colour expression, watercolour comics with humour in simplicity, and even various artist’s residence works based on his comics, the artist uses his paintbrushes to capture those daily or private moments in daily life that are neglected or taken for granted, and to delicately outline the complex spiritual world inside people.
He writes poems with his paintings and uses the ‘GWONG TAU ZAI’ who often appears in his paintings as his spokesman, and uses relevant art products to communicate with people, and it is good if the viewers can smile when they see it or think about it in a sympathetic way.
「Give me a hug」
The theme of “Love is deep but never spoken” is a theme that LEGO LIANG has expressed in the ‘GWONG TAU ZAI’ doll and in many of his works. He is deeply convinced of the power of hugging, and “Give Me a Hug” in DuoYun Drama Store is an exhibition linked with the “Hug” doll of ‘GWONG TAU ZAI’.
Turn the corner from the Lanxin Theatre and walk a few more steps along the street-side buildings of Changle Road, and you will see a very dramatic scene.
The plush ‘GWONG TAU ZAI’ named “Hug” sits quietly in a glass window, watching the cars and pedestrians coming and going. Walking back and forth along this road a few more times, every time I glance at him, there is a kind of emotion that is hard to explain, sometimes he looks like a silent spectator, and sometimes he looks like an actor in the middle of a performance.
That’s when the heart can’t help but remember the quote Salinger wrote in Heart of a Broken Story “I think love is a touch and yet not a touch”.
This is a very interesting experience, and you know very well that it is also an unspoken tacit understanding to stop and meet him face to face.
This tacit understanding can be seen everywhere from the entrance of the drama store to the exhibition area. The painting on the exhibition poster is entitled “Deep Sea”, a painting that has been a favourite of the audience in former exhibitions, and a reproduction of which has been shown in the old Parisian art gallery, Galerie Francis Barlier, where a simple picture can release the power that reaches directly to the heart of the human being. This is a situation that the author did not anticipate when he painted it, after all, he only painted a real dream of his own fall to the bottom of the sea.
In the painting “Spring Subway”, Mercer shifts another perspective. In the image of an underground outside of Tokyo, we see people keeping a distance from each other, cold and detached, but in reality, they are embracing the plush bald boy as a symbol of their inner longing to be embraced.
Traditional ink painting is the expression that LEGO LIANG used to specialise in, with large areas presented on site, and a small painting is a story, easy to understand and full of poetry.
Whether in ink, watercolour or oil painting, ‘GWONG TAU ZAI’ appears in different postures, he is the spokesman of the creator and can be every viewer. When a painting is finished, the author has already accomplished his mission, and the right to interpret it is left to the viewer.
In addition to the ‘GWONG TAU ZAI’ everywhere, you can also see the cover illustration and art product series made by LEGO for the first time for a literary work. The author of the novel “Hope And Sorrow In A Parisian Auction House” uses the story of Qin Zhao to depict the difficult choices between money and desire in a French auction house, and the cover illustration made by LEGO for the novel echoes the details of the novel and the situation of the characters with great ingenuity, and this painting is now in the collection of the French.
Corner “Lonely Drinking”, one of the many works of LEGO LIANG, advocates that people should have their own private space and time to listen to music and have a drink after a busy day.
The frisbi lamp, which is a co-operation with the famous Italian lamp brand FLOS, presents a painting called landscape, changing the viewer’s traditional perspective of viewing the painting, and tilting the head upwards at a close distance to discover the landscape.
「My Vinyl Days」
With the vinyl slowly rotating discs, the setting sun has not yet cleared, and the music is changing with the wind and clouds over the Huangpu River.
During the summer holidays, the Duoyun Books in the centre of Shanghai is still a popular place for people to go, rubbing shoulders with all kinds of people in the bookstore and finding a quiet place in the clouds.
The bookstore can have more than just books, it can have everything. Listening to music, looking at his paintings and sitting on the sofas he designed is a marvellous experience.
Music is an expression of the soul and a tool to connect people.
As a Cantonese born around the 1980s, many of the songs of that era are often reflected in his creations at different times, and we can find some traces of them in the faux vinyl covers made from oil paintings and the alternative interpretation of the golden songs, “Jade Solid Gold”, which are quite ingenious and originated from the implicit and strong emotions in those songs. The influence of the songs’ subtle and intense emotions.
An exhibition, even though it presents numerous works, there is still a large and deep unknown area waiting to be discovered. The process is like trying to explore the deep ocean, where different people will see different answers and landscapes.
More answers and landscapes are waiting for you to find out.
