JIA IN CONVERSATION WITH PAUL GLADSTON
Jia 셰 (b. 1979) lives and works in Berlin. She was born in Beijing in the People’s Republic of China where she studied architecture, performance and literature. In this conversation Jia reflects on her development as an artist, the problems of translating artistic practice between differing social and cultural contexts and the intended critical significance of her work, which combines aspects of contemporary western(ised) art with interpretations of traditional Chinese thought and practice.
Paul Gladston: I would like to begin by asking you about the background to your development as an artist. You have had a very varied training in dance, architecture and garden design as well as an involvement with independent cinema. In what ways has your varied training and experience impacted on your work as an artist?
Jia: My father is a surgeon, and my mother is a pharmacist who also works in a hospital. At least once a month, they were both called to work shifts on the same night. So, on those nights, from the time I was four I was left to stay at home alone. Because they were so busy at work, they gave me a box of chalk besides other toys. I drew on the floor with the chalk, and after that I would clean the floor. I think this was the beginning of my interest in art. At the age of six, in 1985, I started to learn Chinese ink painting, mostly by myself, though sometimes my father taught me. At twelve, my parents sent me to a weekend art school especially for students preparing for the exam to enter the Central Academy of Fine Art (CAFA) in... The rest of this article is available to subscribers of Eyeline
Jia, Aggregate Tracks, 2014. Multimedia. Courtesy the artist.
Jia, The Road Series 3, No. 498, 2009. Fine art inkjet, 150 x 225.8cm. Courtesy the artist.
