Movie title: Unsung Heroes of Ink
Online event: Wednesday, 4th of November 2020, 11am BST
Length: 25 minutes
Language: Mandarin with English subtitles
Discussion: film director Olivia Wang & Shelagh Vainker, Curator of Chinese Art (Ashmolean Museum)
The Ashmolean Museum Chinese Paintings Programme is delighted to present the UK online premier of the documentary film Unsung Heroes of Ink directed by University of Oxford alumna and Chinese contemporary ink specialist Olivia Wang.
The film Unsung Heroes of Ink explores the importance and role of paper in Chinese ink painting. Leading artists in China, such as Liu Dan (b. 1953), who was on display at the Ashmolean Museum in 2016/17 with the exhibition Liu Dan: New Landscapes & Old Masters, and Shao Fan (b. 1964) explain how paper shapes their work. The film takes the viewer on a journey across China to explore artists’ collaboration with craftspeople in the remote Anhui Province, where ancient methods to hand-produce “xuan” paper are still used. These craftspeople, who have spent a lifetime honing their skills, are the “unsung heroes of ink”.
The screening of the film will be followed by a discussion between the film director Olivia Wang and the Ashmolean Museum curator of Chinese art, Shelagh Vainker. The audience will have the opportunity to post questions to the speakers in the chat.
Free online event, booking required. Please, register via Eventbrite here.
For more information on all events please email chinesepaintingsprogramme@ashmus.ox.ac.uk.
