Exhibition looks at wonders of night sky

Photographer, painter team up to remind people to find 'peace from the twinkling stars'

More than 390,000 office workers rush each day into Beijing's Guomao central business district in the early morning and plod toward bus stops or the railway station after sunset. Tired and stressed out, they cannot even remember the last time when they looked up and enjoyed the beautiful star-studded sky.

Now they have an opportunity to take a break from their dull routines. A cross-border joint art exhibition kicked off on Aug 18 at Today Art Museum in Beijing, blocks away from Guomao.

Half of the exhibits are photos taken by Ye Ziyi, an award-winning photographer who has spent much of her time exploring and shooting the stars overhead. The other part of the exhibit consists of oil paintings of starry skies by artist Zheng Chao.

A common interest in the night sky brought their works together. The theme of the exhibition is healing by pulling ordinary people out of their anxious daily life and taking them to the fabulous natural beauty of the night sky.

"Every day, people walk in and out of their office; they are too busy to even look up at the beautiful sky and take a rest. Fear of the unknown and anxiety engulf them," Ye says. "What we want to do is remind them to not forget how easy it is for them to enjoy the night sky and get peace from the twinkling stars."

Speaking to the audience about why she is so addicted to star-studded skies, Ye describes the "incredible beauty" as a way of psychological healing.

"Most of the time I had to wait on a barren wasteland in the middle of the night until the best time to shoot," she says. "But when I stood in the darkness and looked up at the starry sky, I was shocked and then relieved, facing the biggest-ever unknown - the universe."

Her efforts paid off.

Two years ago, the 28-year-old Beijing native won the the Beauty of the Night Sky category of the International Earth and Sky Photo Contest (TWAN). On April 15, 2017, her photo titled Luminous Salar de Uyuni was selected by NASA as its Astronomy Picture of the Day.

The photo captures bright stars in the night sky over Bolivia and, below, the patterns of the Uyuni Salt Flat can be traced to the horizon.

"This photo was inspired by M.C. Escher's lithograph Phosphorescent Sea," she says.

Unlike Ye, Zheng Chao doesn't have to shoulder heavy photographic equipment while traveling around the world to capture beautiful images of the night sky.

"Two years ago, I was drawing a picture of a beacon, which was scattered with water spray after being hit by huge waves in the dark night," Zheng says.

"Suddenly, I found out this was just like a painting of a starry sky. Then I started turning my eyes to the stars."

What makes the exhibition different from others is a special display called a multimedia immersive experience area. A projection on the wall shows video clips of Ye's work in the outdoors all these years.

To bring a more authentic experience to the audience, Ye also put her tent and outdoor chairs on a small piece of grass where viewers can sit and enjoy the beautiful sky, just like she did.

"I sat there watching and crying," one visitor wrote on a micro blog. "They are so wonderful, even though I can only watch them on the screen. Thanks to these star chasers for healing me, and I hope that one day I can find someone to sit side-by-side and look at the stars."

zhaoruinan@chinadaily.com.cn