XISHI

Xishi is a powerful work of interwoven and layered lines, evoking fantastical, yet identifiable imagery. Here, Guo Fengyi creates a single entity which consists of many figures that are completely entwined with one another. The fluidity of Fengyi’s lines imbue an electric dynamism in the work and yet offers a sense of peace at the same time. Fengyi was born in Xi’an, central China in 1942. Upon earning her high school diploma, she found work in a rubber factory, but her career was cut short due to severe arthritis. In an effort to alleviate her pain, Fengyi sought out alternative and ancient medicine and she soon found herself on a spiritual journey centered in the practice of Qi Gong. The technique combines philosophy with martial arts, breath control and meditation, similar to tai chi. She also studied reflexology and acupuncture, focusing on the body’s meridians and pressure points. In her exercises, she found herself experiencing many states of consciousness, which she visualized in her drawings. Fengyi inscribes several windows of time and dates on the present work, possibly recording a meditative state during which she drew. Fengyi was also inspired by the ancient divination Chinese text I Ching (Book of Changes), as well as mythology and philosophy. These mystical and ancient sources appear in her works as faces of unspecified lords, spiritual figures and Chinese dragons.