Le Xi: Reimagining the Artist's Role in the Everyday
In my art, I'm not interested in highly technical, expert skills - instead, I'm drawn to the most ordinary, everyday things in life. I often find fascinating art in the mundane little details around us, especially the common occurrences and actions happening all the time. These everyday moments are constantly unfolding, and sometimes they'll suddenly give me these amazing artistic experiences and unexpected insights.
My piece "Cleaning Windows" comes from regular everyday experiences like this. For me, the act of cleaning windows has become this kind of meditative ritual. In my studio in Chongqing, I started really focusing on wiping the glass. Through this simple action, I can observe how the city and the 3D space around me are constantly changing. I carefully clean off the dust on the windows with a double-sided squeegee, keeping them nice and clear. I get really absorbed in this focused work, and the swishing sound of the squeegee matches the scenery in front of me. My movements are like painting brushstrokes that span the whole frame, slowly going up and down to wipe. After the pandemic a few years later, I went back to my hometown and re-experienced the city's landscape by wiping the glass again. I feel like an artist, reminiscing about Willem de Kooning's action paintings. I set up a video camera to record my performance, but really, I'm just cleaning the windows. I keep switching between the roles of cleaner, performer, and painter, enjoying that in-between space, while also reflecting on the world that's dominated by glass.
Le Xi, Cleaning Windows, 01:49(Loop), video, dimensions variable, 2023
In this process, the window itself becomes a central metaphor. It's like a doorway, connecting the inner and outer worlds - just like how a smartphone screen connects us to the digital world. There's a sense of physical isolation, but also closeness, because I can see the changes happening in the city through the glass. It's a mix of calmness and helplessness, making me appreciate the little moments of life even more. This work blurs the line between art and everyday tasks. I'm not trying to turn a simple chore into "high art" - rather, I'm exploring how even the most ordinary behaviors and interactions can hold deeper meaning and poetry. The real value here isn't in telling a story, but in uncovering overlooked experiences through the work, and reflecting on how to live and exist in that way.
In artistic practice, there's really no set path or rules I have to follow. I need to break free from the ideas and theories that the "wise people" have proposed. I want to solve my own problems in my own way, be true to myself, and challenge the traditional notions of who can be an artist and how they create. Achieving a kind of "neutrality" is the highest state for me. The body is a fluid, fragmented medium, not a coherent whole or stable existence. It's always interrelated with the materiality of the shared space around it, so I have to situate the body within its proper context, viewing it as just one part of the larger space. My goal is to reposition the role of the artist - no longer as this lofty, elevated creator, but as a sensitive mediator who can capture all those little overlooked details and fragmented experiences, and then transform them into new perspectives for the viewer.
