Lifestyle

Xu Qiping is the kind of Chinese woman whose appearance fits the Western concept of an East Asian female - a slim figure, gentle voice and a graceful manner. However, her art is greatly at odds with her image. Those who walk into her studio are immediately overwhelmed by the wildness in her paintings. With audacious colors, bold strokes and twisted figures, her works are represented in a violent way as opposed to the delicate and peaceful style of typical Chinese ink paintings.

Xu explains this contradiction well: "The soft personality comes from my beautiful and watery hometown in south China," she said. "But the desire for wildness has been under my skin since the very beginning." It's that wild desire that led her to the continent where wildness is uniquely preserved. "My trip to Africa injected energy into my body and explored the primordial vigor of life in my soul. It helped me remove the mask and face my true self."

Soul-searching trip

Her eyes were wild with excitement when mentioning her trip to Africa in 1999. It was at a time when China embraced its first tidal wave of a growing market economy. It was the beginning of monumental changes which expanded China's economy, making it the second largest in the world. At the frontier of the overwhelming reform, southeastern coastal areas underwent a wave of going into business and being self-employed, which offered the first stepping-stone for many rich Chinese to establish their fortune. But this also changed the appearance of the cities - the mossy stone paths and delicate ancient bridges were replaced by concrete skylines. The changes also affected people's outlook and values.

"We often say that art is beyond life, but it still originates from life," Xu said. The romantic yet suburban view of small Chinese towns was Xu's inspiration for her Chinese ink paintings. But they disappeared, taking away her muse. For the first time in her life, Xu had a doubt about her choice. Would business be a good option for her, as it had been for hundreds and thousands of Chinese people? If not, she must find a new fountainhead of inspiration.

The first thought which came into her mind was Africa. At the time, most Chinese writers were attracted to the strong artistic atmosphere in Europe, but Xu believed what she needed was somewhere "most primitive."

"She had the wisdom to seek the fountainhead of art in Africa over Western masters (like Picasso)," said Jia Fangzhou, a famous art critic. "And that required courage and vision."

In July 1999, Xu embarked on a three-month journey to Africa where she eventually found a spiritual home.

Second home

Standing on the African continent, Xu's first impression was picturesque and colorful - golden desert, blue ocean, and red roofs - a painting, composed of spectacular splotches of colors, immediately spread itself before her eyes. Even a common scene such as a black woman in red, with a pitcher on her head, walking in the evening light could be artistically inspiring for her.

For over a decade, Xu has been consistently inspired by what she saw and felt in Africa. She often got up in the middle of the night to paint her sudden emotions triggered by memories.

"The key feature of Expressionism is that when artists paint, they are driven by the passion in their heart, like Vincent van Gogh by his emotions toward nature," said Jia.

It was the same with Xu with her inspiration from Africa.

Among a tribe in South Africa, she saw a teenage boy sitting on the top of a coconut tree. People told her that the boy was sick. The tree grew up with him, so he saw the tree as his alter ego and his life, believing he could recover only by staying on that tree.

This reminded Xu of Africans who wore ox heads and cornucopias in traditional ceremonies. In this way, Africans wish to achieve a fusion with nature.

"After that trip I now have two homelands. One is in south China, the other is Africa," said Xu. "Africa gave me my second life as an artist and renewed my understanding of art."

Back from Africa, Xu decided to stop copying the works of masters. She wanted to paint what was in her heart, with her ink shading depicting black skins, red dunes and glimmering lakes in that remote world.

» 2004 China Art Museum holds an art exhibition of Xu's works on Africa.

» 2010 Xu participates in the art exhibition in 2010 African Cultures in Focus, an event organized by the Ministry of Culture.

» 2013 Xu is invited to visit Algeria. Her work Impression of North Africa is collected by the Algerian Ministry of Culture and National Academy of Fine Arts.

» 2014 Xu participates in Care for Animals and Love Nature, an exhibition themed on Chinese and African art.