ZHANG FUMING
Artist / Printmaker

Ideas of success, growth, and progress are the driving forces behind this series. The "up" direction is a leitmotif that symbolises growth and success. A ladder likewise represents the same with the added connotation of "work in progress".

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We have:
1. a pair of wooden ladders crudely painted gold.

2. Woodcut prints previously considered "unresolved" in the artist's studio while working with imageries of success. Flanked by the wooden ladders, the inclusion of the woodcut prints completes the installation, reconciling materiality with meaning simultaneously when viewed in its totality.

3. A large charcoal drawing dated 2015 (middle) depicting workers of diverse fields juxtaposed with tapes forming the shape of ladders.

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By sharply contrasting the authenticity of Fuming’s woodcut prints with the apparent flimsiness at which the three-dimensional ladders were hastily assembled together (using wood and tape) - this is an uncharacteristically playful attempt by the artist to highlight the adage of "fake it until you make it", and hits hard at our modern malaise of misplaced hopes in a world too preoccupied with limited notions of success.