Ma Wenyi (b.1993, Guangdong Province, China) is a bachelor and postgraduate student of Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts and a MA student at Birmingham City University Contemporary Arts China major programme. In 2019, she was awarded the scholarship of China Scholarship Council (CSC).
ARTIST STATEMENT
In my artworks, I do not rely on specific cultural symbols, but instead, I pay attention to the tension within materials: for example, recording the rebound and broken process of pulled balloons; the expanding and thinning skin of balloons filled with sand and kneaded; or the process of the human body being touched, and slapped with color. I want to explore materiality: the material can really become an independent individual, rather than just as a container to express people’s ideas, because they are more complex and cannot be framed. My works aim to keep the materials from being simply categorized and defined in my practices.
I participated in the ‘Bollard Project’ exhibition at IKON Gallery(2019), which aimed to respond to the artworks by British artist Barry Flanagan. During the preparation of the exhibition, I read some archives on pure material charm. Meanwhile, I discussed with many artists about the topic. Combined with my studies in various workshops, I gradually develop a creative way of playing with materials.