REGIONAL> Culture Tourism
Sculptures bring artistic light to Urumqi
(China Daily Xinjiang Bureau)
Updated: 2009-08-24 17:36

Unaffected by the July 5 violent riot which ravaged downtown Urumqi, the capital city of Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, the 2009 International Urban Sculpture Camp successfully concluded on Sunday.

Sixty-two avant-garde masterpieces from 23 countries were created, which will be nestled permanently in the meadow of the square in front of the Urumqi municipal government building.

"Everyone who comes to this grand show should feel lucky because it is a great honor for the city to host such a state-of-the-art international art festivity. The camp offers a top banquet of arts for everyone," said Li Hongbin, vice mayor of the Urumqi municipal government.

The camp was themed "Communication, Interaction and Creation", which are the key cultural elements Urumqi wants to demonstrate to visitors, according to the Urumqi municipal government. The organizing committee received 1,011 applications from 45 countries. After several rounds of stringent selection, 62 pieces, half of which came from foreign artists, were admitted.

Emil Adamec from the Czech Republic said it was a great honor to have his work and his name remembered in such a beautiful city at such a historic time. "As artists, what we can bring to people is beauty and enjoyment. The July 5 tragedy did not affect the artists in the camp as we were busy with the final touches of the works, but I hope people and this marvelous city will recover from the trauma soon."

His artwork, Moon Mirror 11, is part of a sculpture complex named Acupuncture of Earth. Adamec intends to put more than 300 of his works all over the globe, in cities geologically opposite to each other.

Singaporean sculptor Yeo Chee Kiong produced the work Casual Encounter for the camp, which depicts a cluster of dark clouds overlooking another cluster of white clouds on the ground, their long shadows intermingled together.

The artist, whose ancestry can be traced back to Fujian province, acknowledged that he was concerned about safety before making the trip to Urumqi. "Friends in Singapore and Beijing suggested I not come, however, [now that] I am actually here, I find it is different from what I have seen from the media reports. We are pretty safe here, and what I find most interesting is that Xinjiang people are very warmhearted and outspoken—it's quite easy for you to make friends with them."

Yeo said he was enchanted with the exotic beauty of Xinjiang, which he has known for a long time, but was disappointed that he couldn't see more of the province. "We were very busy, and also the municipal government was concerned about our safety, so we have not visited acclaimed resorts such as Kanas and Kashgar. But we have been to Turpan and some other places nearby," Yeo explained.

"It's a pity we haven't seen the full picture of Xinjiang, but we can understand. I think I will come to Xinjiang again sometime in the near future; it is a place you must see in your lifetime."