Photo by Suo Yue. At 1:20 a.m. on February 4, a giant transport truck from Dalian to Beijing slowly drove towards the South Gate Square of the Old Summer Palace. This special transport carries an eye-catching artwork - the large-scale mecha art installation "Great Wall Dragon", which will be unveiled during the Spring Festival to bring visitors a unique artistic experience. This night transport is like a quiet parade, which not only brings the "Great Wall Dragon" to a new exhibition venue, but also unveils the mystery of the long-awaited citizens. The whole process is full of anticipation and excitement, as if to indicate that the upcoming art feast will add a touch of bright color to the Old Summer Palace. Visitors can look forward to experiencing the unique charm of this art installation during the Chinese New Year.
"Great Wall Dragon" is a masterpiece of Sun Shiqian's use of mechanical devices to interpret traditional Chinese culture by Sun Shiqian, the Yuanmingyuan Research Center of the **Academy of Fine Arts, with a total length of nearly 20 meters, a height of about 7 meters, and a weight of about 10 tons. It creatively integrates the two totems of the Chinese nation, the Great Wall and the Dragon, which have deep cultural symbolic significance and national symbolism, and constructs them as the "Great Wall Dragon" physical mecha; Through mechanical engineering technology, it has achieved the transformation from a solid Great Wall to a smart dragon shape, realizing the cross-border integration of art and technology.
It is understood that the "Great Wall Dragon" was pre-assembled in the studio, transported from Dalian to Beijing, and then transported after the overall large frame was assembled. This effectively reduces the on-site assembly time. In order to ensure its stability and minimize the bumps in long-distance transportation, a special transportation mode is adopted, and the transportation from Dalian to Beijing lasts nearly 50 hours. After arriving at the Old Summer Palace in the early morning of February 4, under the guidance of designer Sun Shiqian, the workers started the intense installation work, and after working non-stop all night, the assembly was completed before 5 o'clock in the morning, and the inspection and debugging before the exhibition were carried out.
It took about 7 years from the very beginning of the idea of 'Great Wall Dragon' to the completion of the first draft, and it has been nearly 10 years since it has been continuously adjusted. For example, I made 17 plans for the head of the dragon, and the existing one is the most reasonable and beautiful, blooming like a flower. The overall material is mainly metal, because it is more durable, and it shows the strong quality of the Great Wall, with a total weight of nearly 10 tons and more than 5,000 parts, which is unique in both art and industry. Sun Shiqian said.
From the perspective of cultural connotation, the "Great Wall Dragon" not only highlights the long history and indomitable spirit of the Chinese nation, but also arouses people's attention and thinking about the heritage of ancient civilization through this highly visually impactful way, and also embodies the beautiful vision of national prosperity and great national rejuvenation. This work is not only an attempt to show the charm of traditional Chinese culture to the world, but also an exploration and guidance for the development direction of modern Chinese art. In addition, "The Great Wall Dragon" may also be interpreted as a unique insight into how Chinese cultural symbols can be reshaped and disseminated in a global context under the current social changes and technological progress, which encourages the audience to reflect on the interaction between traditional culture and modern technology, and further stimulates the public's pride and identity in local culture.
I started to create the Zodiac mecha in 2014, and I chose this theme because of the influence of the beast head in the Old Summer Palace on me, the Old Summer Palace is a place of special significance for the Chinese people, so when the Year of the Dragon comes, the 'Great Wall Dragon' came to the Old Summer Palace to exhibit for the first time, I think this is a return to the zodiac culture. Sun Shiqian told reporters.
The Great Wall Dragon" is statically manifested as a golden Great Wall in the towering mountains, after starting the mechanical device, the Great Wall slowly vibrates and lifts, and gradually transforms into a dragon, when it rises to the highest point, the dragon's back bow is like a crescent moon, and several beacon towers are transformed into dragon heads and limbs, and then a golden dragon is born, with a very scientific and technological appearance and dynamics, showing the charm and vitality of the Great Wall and the dragon.
This work has a lot of original ideas and research and development, not only in art to turn the Great Wall into a dragon, but also in innovation has achieved certain results, including the successful application of the national utility model patent, invention patents are also in the process of simultaneous declaration. At present, it is also a large-scale mechanical deformation device in the forefront of the world, and at the same time, I will raise my own funds this year to create and develop the next generation of Great Wall Dragon, which will be bigger, more beautiful and more exciting. Sun Shiqian told reporters.
The appearance of the "Great Wall Dragon" not only added a festive atmosphere to the occasion of the New Year, but also demonstrated the continuous progress of China's mecha devices, echoing people's good wishes for the prosperity of the country and the great rejuvenation of the nation during the Spring Festival of the Year of the Dragon. (Reporter Suo Yue).