Coal & Ash Drawings
Bird Study — Coal Drawing
EN: A study of bird forms using coal dust, revisiting literati painting traditions through a contemporary material.
CN: 以煤粉重访古代文人画的鸟，探索传统与当下材料的对话。
EN:
This drawing takes inspiration from birds depicted in classical Chinese literati paintings — not merely as naturalistic representations but as carriers of spirit and metaphor. Executed with coal dust, the work connects the gesture of the brush with the raw, smudged unpredictability of coal as a medium.
The bird stands still, almost dissolving into the paper, yet it embodies an inner motion — the tension between stillness and the urge to take flight. For me, birds are deeply personal symbols: they speak of my desire for freedom, for transcendence, for stepping outside prescriptive roles.
This piece is part of my ongoing “Coal as Memory” body of work, which reclaims coal as more than an industrial residue, using it to trace personal memory, cultural heritage, and emotional impulses.
CN:
这幅画取材于中国古代文人画中常见的鸟意象——它们从来不是单纯的自然再现，而是精神与隐喻的载体。作品用煤粉完成，将毛笔的提按顿挫与煤炭原始、不可控的涂抹感结合在一起。
画中的鸟似乎静止不动，又仿佛随时要振翅而去，悬于静与动之间。对我而言，鸟是极为私人的象征：它代表着我对自由的渴望，对超越现实框架的冲动，对摆脱规训的想象。