Blue Rhapsody – Mountains and Rivers (蓝韵山川, Jiang Zhaojin, 60 × 60 cm (framed: 88 × 88 cm), mixed media, 2024

For Peixuan Lyu, Jiang Zhaojin’s creative use of everyday material evokes profound concepts in Chinese philosophy.

For the artist Jiang Zhaojin (Wanlin, 蒋曌锦), the choice of denim as a material can be traced back to her experiences and childhood memories: “My mother worked in a denim garment factory and would often send me denim products. Denim, as an element, carries my childhood memories. It has become an outlet for me to release emotions—it empowers me, making me more optimistic and resilient. Its toughness resonates deeply with my own personality and character.”

The origins of denim

Denim, used to make jean-style clothing, originated in Nîmes, France, where it was mass-produced in the eighteenth century. Initially a workwear fabric, denim became popular for its durability and resistance to wear. Jeans emerged during the California Gold Rush in the United States as sturdy attire for miners.

In Daniel Miller and Sophie Woodward’s (2010) research on Global Denim, they argue that certain consumerist media in the era of globalization items characterized by their economic attributes are far more than merely symbolic agents of autonomous manipulation. Instead, they are shaped by the broader cultural potential embedded within the commodities themselves. This global presence, as constructed through denim, holds particular significance for both sellers and buyers, thereby enabling a multiplicity of cultural interpretations.

As one of the most prominent objects within the global consumer landscape, denim apparel finds a dedicated storyteller in Jiang. In an interview, she stated: “My work is not only a tribute to traditional culture but also a profound reflection on contemporary social phenomena, including consumer culture and environmental issues.”

Symbolic consumption is an inevitable outcome of economic and social development driven by consumer demand. Responding to symbols with symbols is the artistic methodology Jiang has chosen. Recycled denim garments have gradually become the central medium of her practice. Through skilful collage, design, and reconstruction, the symbolic meanings and textures embedded in denim transcend their original consumerist attributes. Instead, they serve as a distinctive cultural tool for expressing one of the artist’s core concerns: how to confront contemporary environmental issues and reflect on the pervasive influence of consumerism. Her work also explores how art can serve as a catalyst for deeper discussions on the tensions between materiality and spirituality in modern society.

Blue Rhapsody

Tracing her creative trajectory in this visual encounter between global media symbols and literati painting, Jiang further responds to and examines the boundaries and possibilities of cultural exchange, imbuing this medium with new artistic significance and spiritual value.

In Jiang’s new work Blue Rhapsody – Mountains and Rivers (2024), the composition is visually divided into two parts at a ratio of approximately four to six by the effects created through different materials. The upper section is rendered in the style of small green-blue landscapes, combining bold and fine brushstrokes to achieve a delicate and elegant aesthetic. The overlapping mountain ranges, imbued with a scholarly charm, can also be seen in her other works completed in the same year, such as Golden Mist and Emerald Shadows (2024) and Verdant Rhythm – Dreaming of Endless Rivers (2024), where craftsmanship and elegance are both fully realized.

…she consciously selects the lighter fabric from the knee areas of jeans to depict the sunlit slopes of mountain ridges, capturing the luminosity of sunlight cascading over the terrain

In certain sections of these works, Jiang consistently shifts the medium from the traditional combination of paper and ink to denim fabric and thread, using light-coloured fabric to accentuate trees and rocks, creating a rhythmic variation within a sense of order. The river possesses a flat, decorative quality while still maintaining the depiction and connection of the mountains’ depth—referred to as “profound distance.” The romanticism of the mountain scenery and the literary Aesthetic Conception（意境）are simultaneously achieved, complementing each other perfectly.

Coincidentally, Ian Berry, another artist who uses denim as his primary medium, is dedicated to exploring urban scenes through the layered textures and tonal variations of jeans. In his works, denim—originally associated with rural settings—transforms into a “city fabric” that narrates modernity, highlighting the material’s symbolic meanings and inherent dualities. If Ian Berry’s practice extends denim’s significance across temporal dimensions and reflects on its role within a globalized context, then Jiang’s denim landscapes build upon this foundation with a more spiritually transcendent experimental approach. Her work is not only an encounter between secondhand denim—rooted in Western cultural backgrounds—and literati painting in an Eastern context but also a profound artistic exploration that deeply integrates the cultural connotations of Western materials with the intellectual traditions of Eastern art.

By exploring the fusion of material and artistic conception, Jiang extends the traditional Chinese landscape painting philosophy of being accessible, observable, inhabitable, and traversable into contemporary artistic exploration. Beyond the brushwork and literati ink play inherent in Chinese landscape painting, her work serves as a unique projection of her personal cosmology.

Golden Mist and Emerald Shadows – Detail, Jiang Zhaojin, mixed media, 2024

A closer examination of the denim patchwork logic in her compositions reveals a deliberate artistic strategy: she consciously selects the lighter fabric from the knee areas of jeans to depict the sunlit slopes of mountain ridges, capturing the luminosity of sunlight cascading over the terrain. In contrast, she employs darker fabric for the shaded slopes, enhancing the interplay of light and shadow while accentuating the undulating topography. Through her meticulous selection and arrangement of fabric, she not only organically constructs the visual depth and yin-yang dynamics within her landscapes but also achieves a striking harmony between natural topography and the industrial texture of denim itself.

Through her masterful manipulation of materials, Jiang Zhaojin appears to have realized an artistic language of reconstructed landscapes, one that not only preserves the spiritual essence of traditional Chinese culture but also pioneers new possibilities for denim—a globally recognized medium—within an Eastern context. The realization of this language is closely linked to the artist’s deep understanding and application of the I Ching (易经) and its geomantic principles (fengshui, 风水). Embedded within her work is a philosophical meditation on the balance of yin and yang (阴阳平衡) and the dynamic interaction between heaven and earth, seamlessly integrating these ancient concepts into a contemporary artistic framework.

I Ching and Feng Shui

The I Ching (the Zhou Yi) is the wellspring of Chinese philosophical thought, laying the foundation for fundamental concepts such as yin and yang. For a long period after its inception, its primary function was divination, offering guidance for decision-making and action. However, after gaining favour among rulers during the Han dynasty, it evolved from a mere book of divination into a state-endorsed philosophical text on governance and self-cultivation. Revered as the foremost of the Five Classics and the origin of the Dao, the I Ching contains profound theoretical insights and an early form of dialectical thinking within its seemingly enigmatic structure. By expounding upon images (xiang), numbers (shu), principles (li), and divination (zhan), it reveals the natural laws governing the development and transformation of all things in the universe.

For Jiang, pursuing I Ching and feng shui principles is deeply intertwined with her family memories and personal growth. Raised by her grandparents, she was immersed from an early age in their profound understanding and practical application of feng shui. In her family, feng shui was not merely a theoretical construct but a form of humanistic care—an ethical practice dedicated to alleviating difficulties and helping others. This familial culture and value system have profoundly shaped Jiang’s artistic sensibilities, allowing her to seamlessly and intuitively integrate these inherited traditions into her creative process. By merging this cultural legacy with her personal perspective on spatial composition and natural philosophy, she transforms these principles into artistic practice, offering a renewed visual narrative for traditional wisdom.

In the macro composition of her works, Jiang Zhaojin continuously explores the tian ren he yi (天人合一, the unity of heaven and humanity) ideal in I Ching philosophy, creating poetic landscapes imbued with spiritual depth. The juxtaposition of light and dark denim fabrics for sunlit and shaded slopes subtly echoes the yin-yang principle of mutual generation and opposition. Meanwhile, the dynamic arrangement of mountain and water forms within her compositions reflects the feng shui principle of cang feng ju qi (accumulating energy by harnessing wind and gathering qi). Through the meticulous structuring of landforms and watercourses, feng shui concepts are seamlessly integrated into her artistic expression, encapsulating a holistic perception of the universe and an aspiration for a transcendent realm. This intrinsic connection to traditional philosophy elevates her work beyond mere visual representation, transforming it into a profound exploration of cosmic order and literal spirit.

In visual and cultural dimensions, Jiang Zhaojin bridges tradition and modernity through her handcrafted material practice, imbuing denim—a global symbol and artistic medium—with spiritual significance within an Eastern context. Through an innovative interpretation and translation of I Ching and feng shui philosophies, she continuously examines how traditional thought is sustained and reshaped within contemporary artistic discourse. Her work navigates multiple dynamic relationships: the nostalgia lost amid globalization and the expansion of consumerism, the scholarly elegance of tradition and its contemporary transformation, and the weight of ancient philosophical thought and its resonance with present-day spiritual forces. These elements converge and intertwine, forming an intellectually rich and pluralistic space. This space is not only a site for cultural reconfiguration but also an experimental platform for deep dialogue between tradition and modernity, East and West, visuality and philosophy.

Overall, by pushing the boundaries of form and medium, Jiang expands the discourse on the transformation of tradition in contemporary Chinese art within a globalized context. Her artistic practice opens new pathways for exploring cultural identity, the significance of artistic media, and the contemporary relevance of classical philosophy.

About Jiang Zhaojin

Jiang is a professional artist living and working in Beijing; she was born in 1993 in Suining, Sichuan Province. In 2011, she was admitted to the Chengdu Art School of Sichuan Conservatory of Music, where she studied traditional Chinese painting for seven years. Through her deep engagement with materials and creative exploration, her works reflect a distinctive artistic perspective and creative logic. Using recycled denim clothing, hemp rope, and cotton thread as materials, she reconstructs the compositions of traditional Chinese literati painting or wenrenhua (文人畫) landscapes through cutting and collage, creating philosophy-inspired expressions of landscapes imbued with modern visual language.

Reference

Arting. (2024). The Poetic Interpretation of Eastern Spirit in Western-Material Media: An Analysis of Jiang Zhaojin’s Conceptual Landscape. Arting.

Ian Berry (2024). A World in Denim.

Key Concepts in Chinese Thought and Culture. Aesthetic Conception. Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press.

Miller, D., & Woodward, S. (2020). Global Denim. Bloomsbury Publishing.

Xia, Z. (2012). Dacihai (Visual Art). p.34. Shanghai Century Publishing (Group) Co., Ltd.

Peixuan Lyu is an MA student in Art Theory at the China Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA). She is based in Beijing. Her research focuses on curating lens-based art and the global-local dynamics in contemporary Chinese art.

Wang Chaohui ✿ The story behind family history books and wooden movable type

Peixuan Lyu finds that the craft of type carving continues in China as a way of keeping alive the connection between generations.

Tags

China | Peixuan Lyu | recycling | textiles