Guan Donghai

Guan Donghai:The best for study abroad is that you can feel what different between the two countries with culture.
Also I realized that it is impotent that put yourself in a international field as a professional artist, and how lucky I live in a country which own a rich and deep culture.

I have visited dozens of cities and towns in Britain. The most thing that impression me is building, especially the old building in industry areas. Compare with Chinese building, I believe that our ancient buildings are very special in the world.

They have their own architecture language, which have much more different with other cultures. Moreover, I fund the difference forms of city gates give me a strong feeling. From the form we are given the information that it was not built for welcome people to get in, but show the power for defend, show the dignity that cannot offend. I don’t know when it became a symbol that represents an area. We use ‘into the gate’ or ‘cross the threshold’ to describe people starting a new area study or using ‘attack the gate’ to describe tackle key problems. We use the term ‘country gate’ to describe a country ‘Gateway Opens’ or ‘Live In Seclusion’. Behind a gate always hind the mysterious that made people to guess, to imagine ‘What is inside?’ Is treasure or monster?

With a numerous drafts developed, I try to made my gates series give the audience a feeling with power, solemn, simple and unsophisticated.