2009

39.37" x 35.43" / 100 × 90 cm

Greece came along with a residency program held by the 2nd Thessaloniki Biennale in Greece. Pictures of columns were taken in several abandoned piazzas in Athens, they are symbols of the fall of Greek culture. Contemporary cities are eroding the fragile ancient civilization. There’s a link between Greece and China in the present day.

Yang Yongliang uses images of architecture as brushstrokes; heavy mountain rocks with enriched details draw a faithful reference to traditional Chinese landscape painting. Urban development makes life in the city flourish, but it also imprisons these lives; centuries-old cultural tradition is profound, but it has also remained stagnant.