Pin Fu (牝浮, Floating Mother Ship)

Qiu Anxiong, artist

born 1972

Pin Fu (牝浮, Floating Mother Ship), 2008

Portfolio/Series title: Xin Shanhai Jing 新山海经 (New Book of Mountains and Seas)

Where object was made: China

Material/technique: rice paper; woodcut

Dimensions:
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 420 x 500 mm
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 16 9/16 x 19 11/16 in
Sheet/Paper Dimensions (Height x Width): 497 x 577 mm
Sheet/Paper Dimensions (Height x Width): 19 9/16 x 22 11/16 in
Mat Dimensions (Height x Width): 32 x 24 in

Credit line: Museum purchase: R. Charles and Mary Margaret Clevenger Art Acquisition Fund

Accession number: 2009.0111.11

Not on display

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Images

Label texts

Temporal Turn: Art and Speculation in Contemporary Asia

This print portfolio suggests a traditional Chinese book, but depicts the fantastical creatures featured in chapter one of Qiu Anxiong’s video trilogy The New Book of Mountains and Seas. Each of the bizarre creatures is accompanied by an inscription using archaic terminology and composed in classical Chinese that simulates the Shanhai Jing, a second-century geographic text describing strange creatures in distant lands, upon which the name of the video trilogy is derived.
Floating Mother Ship (牝浮, Pin Fu)
In the Great Ocean [Pacific Ocean], there is an unanchored island that floats with the ocean waves. Its speed is quite fast. It has a flat top surface that stretches for several miles. There are giant birds that perch on it. On the island, there are thousands of people who live their life controlling these birds. The name of this island is Pin Fu [Floating Mother Ship].

Exhibition Label:
"Qiu Anxiong: New Book of Mountains and Seas," Feb-2010, Kris Ercums
Inscription:
In the ocean there is an island that drifts with the current at great speed. Its top is flat and
perched upon it are a number of giant birds and people who ride the birds. This island is called The Mother’s [hen] Float.