Editor's note: The translators HE Jingyu and PENG Haiyan are students of School of Foreign Languages and Literature of Beijing Normal University.

By Tian-Hao Xuezi, China Minutes

In January, Beijing Winter Olympic Park in Shijingshan District welcomed a special group of guests---15 sculptures, all made by world-renowned masters. Their arrival made this park more colorful in this cold winter. Among them, a sculpture named Bliss was created by sculptor Isabel Langtry, the principal of Hampstead School of Art (HSoA) in London, UK.  

Bliss, “British” Happiness of Family, stands out from thousands of works

As for the makers of these 15 international artworks installed in the Winter Olympic Park, Langtry is the only sculptor from the UK. Her work, Bliss, is about 5 meters tall, constructed by two butterfly-shaped steel plates. The end of this sculpture looks like a note (♪), supporting the whole construction.

Langtry said, “You can see it as a butterfly, plant, or anything born from the nature, since my inspiration comes from the nature and I am a big fan of Chinese garden.” She also emphasised that the colour pink she chose to represent blossom is associated with female power, and that is also influenced by the culture and ideas from the Chinese garden. Langtry mentioned that she was deeply moved by the relationship between nature and man when she was reading stories, in which many plants grew in the extremely cold places in China, and people would wrap them with cloth to protect them from the severe winter.

She was most happy to see that many friends in Beijing sent her photos they shot in the Winter Olympic Park. Families can play hide-and-seek around the sculpture and kids can climb onto it. As the season and sunlight change, the sculpture will cast different shadows behind and people can even enjoy the cool during hot days.

Langtry specifically mentioned that Beijing is the only city having hosted both the Summer and Winter Olympic Games. The interaction between sculptures and human and the bond developed thereupon reflects the idea that Beijing is bringing people together by sports and the Olympic Spirit. Art and sports can inspire emotions that transcend race and national boundaries. This spirit, pure and powerful, is exactly what the world needs today to bridge the division.

Besides, the Bliss was mainly made from recyclable environmental-friendly steel and its transportation was also eco-friendly. Its design and a table-sized prototype were transported to Beijing, where the prototype was scaled up to nearly five meters by manufacturers with Chinese-made steel. The Bliss belongs to the series “Oxygen”, which were all made from recyclable materials and drew inspiration from the environment, landscape and plants.

Talking about being selected, Langtry disclosed that the solicitation of public artworks for Winter Olympics was open to the world and there were more than 1200 artists participating in it, as far as her knew. According to the relevant person in Shijingshan District, there were altogether 1611 sets of design submitted by artists from over 50 countries and regions. The moment she saw this solicitation, said by Langtry, she was captivated by the idea of community and solidarity behind it. Her sculpture drew inspiration from China and it was then on display for the Beijing Winter Olympics. When she heard that Bliss was translated into Chinese as “Happiness of Family” (Tian Lun Zhi Le), she said that this translation was “extremely beautiful”.

Langtry kissing her Bliss. Photograph: Tian-Hao Xuezi/China Minutes

Landscape Garden Fan  Meeting Chinese Counterparts Through International Cooperation

Langtry said it was a delight working with Chinese sculptors. In 2019 she met Liu Yang, a famous Chinese architect and sculptor, in an international sculptor collaboration in Riyadh, the capital of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. According to Langtry, Liu Yang has 20 sculptures exhibited in Europe. She was excited to hear that both their works were picked for this event. It was in the International Sculpture Symposium that she developed a stronger interest in Chinese culture through working with sculptors from all over the world, China in particular.

In Langtry’s London studio, the Bliss is placed on a mirror, so the reflection mimics that when the sculpture is put in water. Langtry is enchanted with the stones and sculptures in water in Chinese gardens, fascinated by the reflections of sculptures. “I hope that one day my work can be showed in other cities in China, and it would be better if it were in water!”

She mentioned that as the concept of the International Sculpture Symposium put forward by Austrian sculptor Karl Prantl in 1959, the exchanges between different cultures are embodying ideas of bringing people together by art like “sharing” and “community”. To Langtry, her work being selected for the 15 public art installations in the Winter Olympic Park made her feel more connected with the event. Despite the pity that she could not come to Beijing in person, “I will definitely wait in front of the TV for the broadcast of the Beijing Winter Olympics,” she said.

A Corner of Langtry’s studio.

Photograph: Tian Haoxuezi / China Minutes

Art Liberates the Soul  Class Free For the Homeless

HSoA was established in 1946 by Henry Moore and a group of artists. After World War II, the founders endeavored to relieve people’ stress under war and trauma through artistic concepts like painting, and sculpture, etc. Beginning at the school philosophy of “healing the heart through creation and liberating the soul through art”, HSoA has grown to a school where over one thousand students attend classes every week, with full-time undergraduate education and advanced courses provided. On weekends, teenagers can also take art classes in school workshops and weekend classrooms.

To Langtry, creativity is everywhere, and whenever someone said to her, “Isabel, I don’t know how to be creative,” she would always look at the person and reply, “Look at your outfit today. Your use of color and that of accessories to enliven the whole look are absolutely your creativity!”

Therefore, it is also her schooling principle to give full play to people’s imagination and creativity through various forms. HSoA offers many weekend courses, from painting and silk painting, to pottery making, sculpture and so on. She said that she would also provide homeless people with some free courses, “and no one in the class knows that some of their classmates are homeless”, she said, believing that everyone has a talent for art, and art can also be the salvation for every lonely soul.

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