Artists put animals in the frame

Dolphins, pangolins, cats, chickens, fireflies, butterflies, deer, and hippos, became inspirations for both painters and musicians at a Beijing exhibition.

Released on Oct 15 by Tencent Music Entertainment Group and Beijing-based record company, Beijing Youcishan Culture Media Co. Ltd, the compilation, titled All Creation: Encounter with Animals, was unveiled at the UCCA Center for Contemporary Art in 798 Art Zone in Beijing.

Audiences enjoyed eight paintings by contemporary artists, including Chinese artist Wu Chen, Spanish artist Daniel Sueiras Fanjul and Japanese artist Shinya Sato, while listening to eight songs attached to each painting, by singer-songwriters, such as pop duo Good Meimei, Chen Li and Jiao Maiqi.

The idea of the album was initiated by Xi Tao, founder of Beijing Youcishan Culture Media Co. Ltd, who is also an art collector.

"For many of us, spending time with animals helps to relieve anxiety, especially during the pandemic. Over the last few months, we shared similar situations, such as working from home and adjusting our new life tempos due to the coronavirus pandemic. Together with my musician friends of our company, we have reflected on how a simple connection with an animal, be it a commonly seen cat or a deer, we rarely spot in our daily lives can be of benefit," says Xi, who founded the music company in 2017 and is keen on promoting original Chinese music.

Xi asked eight singer-songwriters of his company to name an animal, which first came to their minds. He didn't tell them that it was going to be a music project. After getting the names of the eight animals, Xi let the eight singer-songwriters draw lots to decide their themes for each song.

"I have a cat and I always wanted to write a song for her. Though we cannot talk, we share the room and we know each other very well," says 24-year-old singer-songwriter Jiao, who wrote the song, titled Cat Or Human, portraying the similarities human beings share with cats.

The song was paired with an oil painting by Chinese artist Tang Yongxiang, whose art piece portrayed a white cat, named White.

"It's my cat and we lived together for five years," says the artist. "She welcomes me when I get home. She is also a little bit bad-tempered. She would turn her back toward me when she is not happy."

Singer-songwriter Zhang Xiaohou, who is a member of the pop duo, Good Meimei, also contributed a song to the compilation, titled In the Night of Mega Deer Rd, which was inspired by the road, named Mega Deer, in Shanghai. The duo made their stage debut in a small club located on the Mega Deer Road in Shanghai back in 2010.

Japanese artist Shinya Sato says that in his oil painting, titled Mutation, the deer is a symbol of power and he tries to capture the charm of a male deer with his horns painted with crystal colors, "mysterious and attractive".

"The crossover project of combining animals with music and contemporary art pieces allows us to break our old habits as singer-songwriters," says Qin Hao, the other half of pop duo, Good Meimei.

Founded in 2010, Qin, who graduated from Jilin Animation Institute with a major of design in animation, and Zhang, who graduated from Zhejiang Sci-Tech University with a major of building environment and facility management, rose to fame with their original works featuring music genres of pop and folk.

With the songs featured in the compilation, Aquarium in Pink by the duo, and The Touch of Demon, by Qin, they portrayed a dark and romantic atmosphere, which are different from their usual smoothing and catchy music style.

Other works included in the project are The Hippopotamus, a song by singer-songwriter Chen Li, paired with art piece, Moon Night, by artist Huang Yishan. She Flies in Beauty, by singer-songwriter Wang Jiayi, is paired with an oil painting work, Don't Be A Chicken, by artist Daniel Sueiras Fanjul.

According to Chen Mo, TME's head of Brand Public Relations Department, the painters and singer-songwriters worked together to integrate art visuals with music for the collaborative album, which calls for the preservation of nature, wildlife, and further actions to protect a coexisting community of mankind and animals.

"The breakthrough format of music and visual art crossover allows us to provide a great outlet for individual emotional expressions and group emotional resonance. The resulting creative, immersive experience helps to unlock more value and encourage the production of more high-quality music content," Chen adds.

The project is also supported by WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature), one of the world's largest and most respected independent organizations dedicated to the conservation of nature.

According to Zhou Fei, a chief program officer at WWF China, many great musicians have written songs inspired by animals and dedicated them to wild animal protection. For example, Across The Universe, by The Beatles, was recorded in early 1968 and first released on a World Wildlife Fund album the following year. In 2013, Chinese pop star Zhang Liangying also has performed a song, titled Grateful, in cooperation with WWF for the project of protecting Yangtze finless porpoise.