Using paper as a medium, it awakens contemporary echoes of historical space   

Paper is a kind of artificial material form, which has actively participated in the construction of human space. Paper is the carrier of culture, words, images, colors are the development of human thought. The white paper presents the epitome of cultural accumulation, which is the result of the dual role of humanities and science.

Recently, the annual achievement exhibition of Anhui Paper Craft Project of "Beauty of Culture · Space on Paper" of Tsinghua University Sulwhasxiu Intangible Cultural Heritage Conservation Foundation opened in Nanping Village, Yixian County, Huangshan City, Anhui Province. Thirty-one pieces (sets) of paper-themed art works were unveiled in Nanping Village's classic Hui-style ancestral hall, Ye Clan Ancestral Hall (Suituji Hall) and Ye Clan Ancestral Hall (Kuiguang Hall), realizing the aesthetic dialogue between tradition and modernity.

According to Sultan, curator of the exhibition and doctoral supervisor of the School of Fine Arts of Tsinghua University, paper making is one of the "four great inventions" of China, which represents the wisdom of the Chinese people and has greatly promoted the exchange and development of world civilization. Nowadays, the paper industry is highly developed, and there are as many as 5,000 varieties of paper, but tracing back to the origin of papermaking, it is still the "handmade paper" made by plant-fiber pulping. Anhui handmade papermaking and paper processing has a long history and brilliant achievements. According to statistics, among the representative projects of China's national intangible cultural heritage, there are 10 handmade papermaking and paper processing techniques, of which 3 are in Anhui, respectively, rice paper making techniques, mulberry paper making techniques and paper processing techniques. Among them, the production technique of rice paper has been included in the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

In 2023, the Key Laboratory of Traditional Crafts and Materials Research of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Tsinghua University took "Anhui Handmade paper" as the research object, carried out a series of academic activities, united more than 30 non-genetic heirs, scholars, artists and designers to form Anhui Handmade paper creation Camp, and completed 31 pieces/sets of art works with "paper" as the theme. It is intended to discover paper from the Angle of art, and it is also an exploration of the exhibition mode of intangible cultural heritage and the function of local art construction. "Handmade papermaking reflects the cultural attributes conveyed by intangible cultural heritage. The paper making process is multi-link, cooperative and has the characteristics of modern industry. Therefore, there is no insurmountable trench or barrier between tradition and modernity, and it is logical to empower traditional culture with today's inventions and art forms. In the context of a new era, for the continuation of culture and the development of art, paper needs not only regeneration, but also rebirth. At the same time, non-relics are products of interaction between human beings and the environment, which have spatial and environmental properties, so that the intangible cultural heritage can return to the specific environment and obtain energy from it, which is the main reason for us to choose the ancestral hall building of Nanping Ancient Village in Yixian County, Anhui Province as the exhibition space." 'said the Sultan.In the exhibition space, the material and technology of Ma Long's work "Brow Tips on Paper · Bamboo Joints Rising" are relatively complex in the exhibition works, a group of "umbrella" installation art, whose design inspiration comes from the local traditional oil-paper umbrella shape. Malone introduced that the works have inherited traditional materials and traditional techniques: For example, there are hand-made kraft paper, moisture-proof tung oil brushed with acrylic paint, natural lacquer dye colored umbrella, traditional oil paper umbrella made of wire braided skeleton, and modern design language and custom materials, such as the 3D printed "gear" supporting the umbrella, the nylon strap connecting the upper and lower "umbrella frame", the stainless steel "connection buckle" connecting the bamboo base and the bamboo pole. He hopes to bring you more beautiful experience and beautiful meaning, just like the title of the work, "the brow on the paper, the bamboo knot high".

As a post-90s inheritor of paper-cut art, Chang Yangyang started paper-cutting with her grandmother when she was very young, and it has been more than 20 years. This time, I came to the ancestral hall of Nanping Village, Anhui Province, to understand the traditional rice paper manufacturing skills, and to feel the skills passed down from generation to generation. The main picture of the paper-cut work "Life and Life" created by Chang Yangyang is a green sandalwood leaf. The papermaking process in Anhui uses sandalwood bark and straw to transmit the civilization of thousands of years, and a number of rich and lovely dolls are "grown" on the leaves to do the lifting, expressing the propagation and transmission of life. The surrounding text is the family motto of the "Yip Ancestral Hall" where the exhibition is located, teaching future generations to continue to grow and develop in accordance with the ancestral motto. Chang Yangyang said: "Traditional paper-cutting is more of a folk art, as a contemporary young people, we should make paper-cutting in the creation of qualitative changes, express the emotional thoughts of young people, in the contemporary living space to form a kind of emotional resonance with people, can communicate with contemporary people beautiful creation." We have a mission and responsibility to bring new vitality to traditional skills."

Apparently, paper is "more than paper." When ancestral temples, rice paper, art, technology... When these rich words are superplaced together, "paper" and "paper technology", which exist as intangible heritage, "open" the structural chain of the existing papermaking process sequence and process results, show more diverse possibilities before and after paper forming, and give rich semantic and artistic expression in sensory cognition and the elaboration of cultural meanings. It also echoes the original intention of this exhibition: "To promote the return of intangible cultural heritage and feed the beautiful countryside that nourished its growth." Return to bird carefully, replay the new sound!"