“ SIMA Yuan · Outside of Art” 2023 NYRCA Annual Solo Exhibition

Outside of Art

SIMA YUAN

 

Life

 

Thanks to my parents and family. I live a happy life without pressure. This also enabled me to make various fantastic attempts in life and work after receiving my bachelor’s degree and master’s degree. At the very beginning I studied biology, then entered the world’s top pharmaceutical company, then went to the UK to learn arts. Finally, I became an artist… It seems that my life trajectory was not designed by myself but naturally formed under the guidance of intuition. At every significant moment in my life, I didn’t seem to be making too much effort, but instead tried to rely on intuition and feelings from my right brain. This approach is almost the same as creating, as if I were constantly advancing an image or a painting, relying on imagination and control over the material. I cannot fully predict its final appearance, but I can gradually bring it closer to what I want during the process. I believe that when we are quiet and relaxed enough, the laws of the universe will help us create a “good picture”. Don’t worry at all.

開會 meeting

Work

 

My current work mainly includes four major parts: 1) Making art works. This is something I’ve been doing for nearly 10 years. But maybe it shouldn’t be called a job because I will always do it regardless of whether it brings me money or not. 2) Public welfare. I’ve been working as a volunteer in a public welfare organization for 2 years. We heal children between the ages of 4 and 10 with leukemia through artistic companionship (online or offline). Specifically, we teach them to do crafts and chat with them at a certain time every week. Some children who are seriously ill can only live in asepsis wards in hospitals and be in danger at any time. We hope to use artistic way to make them forget pain and live happily instantly. 3) Teaching. Initially, I worked part-time at a Study Abroad Agencies founded by my friend, tutoring students on art portfolios. These students are between the ages of 17 and 20 and hope to study in the best college of arts in the world. After several students realized their wishes, some friends recommended their children and the children of their friends to me. I just happened to be an art teacher. During the process, I got a lot of fun. 4) Family affairs management. As my parents get elder, they become more focused on their hobbies and social circles, so gradually leave some family matters to me. I started studying finance about a year ago and participated in some investment projects with them. Sometimes I attend meetings and activities instead of them.

旅行  Travel

 

Travel

 

Before 2020, I enjoyed traveling very much, having visited more than 20 countries in about ten years，including Denmark, Thailand, Italy, Vatican, France, UK, Germany, Austria, Czech, Netherland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Norway, Malaysia, Australia, Spain, India, Japan, Tunisia, US, Greece and Switzerland. I’ve been to eight of those countries more than twice. At that time, traveling two or three times a year, each lasting from ten days to a month, was very important to me. Like reading, travelling constantly changes and deepens my understanding of time, space and people. But from 2020-2022, I didn’t go anywhere and just stayed at home. In the past three years, many of my habits have been changed and I’ve done more indoor things, such as yoga, playing the piano, and painting. However, starting this year, I ‘ll have  new journeys again.

 閱讀和寫作 Reading and Writing

Reading

 

I used to enjoy reading literary fiction. I greatly appreciate writers such as Franz Kafka, Italo Calvino, Mikhail Bulgakov, Marguerite Yourcenar, Juan Rulfo, Jean-Pierre Jeune and Wang Xiaobo. Because they are good at deconstructing the cruelty of the real world in black humor or absurd ways and when faced with the helplessness of life and the fear of death, they are always full of imagination and vitality, radiating love and tolerance. However, in recent years, I suddenly began to enjoy reading science fictions. They can bring endless possibilities to life. I believe that a person’s world is neither beyond nor less than the language she/he can control. Reading allows people to continuously expand their controllable language, thereby expanding their own world.

 誦咒 Japa

 

Japa

 

In early 2017, due to a breathtaking experience, I began to recite the Great Compassion Mantra. Over the past six years, I have recited the Great Compassion Mantra nearly 40000 times, basically 21 times a day. For me, the Buddhist mantra is a conduit that connects me to the world higher than the four dimensions. I believe that in the universe, four-dimensional space-time is in the lower level. On the higher dimensions, there must be more advanced life and wisdom. They may look at us as if we look at a plane. For me, the Great Compassion Mantra is a message from the higher dimension world. When I recite it, I can “borrow” the energy from Bodhisattva and enable me to achieve something that cannot be accomplished in this world (Saha World) by my own power, to help others and myself.

做公益 Do public welfare

 

SIMA Yuan

Born in Beijing，she has lived in Dongcheng District, Chaoyang District, Haidian District and BDA at different time. She studied piano from the age of 5.5 to 16 and studied swimming from the age of 10 to 12. At 17, she followed the teachers and students in her school to Denmark for cultural exchange activities. As a sophomore, she began to participate in the etiquette team and model team of Nanjing University. As a junior, she began to learn various Latin dance styles. She obtained a B.S. from Nanjing University and a M.A. from London College of Communication, University of the Arts London. Various travel experiences since graduation (see previous article: Travel). Before and after studying in UK, she mainly worked at the following institutions: Pfizer (China) Investment Co., Ltd., www.benlai.com, Panda iMedia. While doing her second job, she started creating art.

Currently she’s a freelance artist. As a professional scientific background artist, Sima Yuan has artistic sensibility under the logic of science. Her works reflects the meaning of the role of the environment in this era through the individual experience in daily life. For her, the age of consumption and Internet is the sources of artistic creation and imagination, thereby awakening audiences to think about the real situation of human beings. Main solo exhibitions: Ziyang & Charmian, AMNUA, Nanjing, (2021); Acquisition, TELESCOPE, Beijing, (2019); Awareness, Shang 8 International Art Center, Onyx Gallery, Beijing (2018); The Second Sex, the 10th Lianzhou International Photography Festival, Lianzhou, (2014),etc. Her works have been known in School for Curatorial Studies Venice (Italy), FORMAT International Photography Festival (UK), KABUSO Art Museum (Norway), CITIC Bank, Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design (UK), The China Millennium Monument, Tianjin Art Museum, etc.

陪伴父母並給他們拍照 Spend time with parents and take photos of them

藝 術 之 外

司馬源

生存

 

拜父母和家人所賜，我並沒有經曆過什麼生存上的壓力。這也使我有機會在本科和碩士畢業後進行生活和工作上的各種匪夷所思的體驗與嘗試。從做生物實驗，到進入世界頂級制藥公司，到去英國讀書，到開始藝術創作……我的人生軌跡好像並不是自己設計出來的，而是在直覺的引導下自然而然形成的。在人生中的每個重大抉擇中，我仿佛都沒有太“用力”，而是盡量依托來自右腦的直覺與感受。這種方式幾乎和創作一樣，好像我在不斷地推進著一個圖像或畫面，憑借想象和對材料的控制。它的全貌我無法完全預測，但我可以在創作的過程中使之逐漸接近自己想要的樣子。我相信只要足夠安靜和放松，宇宙法則就會幫助我們做出一幅“好畫兒”。根本不用著急。

和朋友聚餐  Dinner with friends

 

工作

 

我目前的工作內容主要分為四大塊：1）藝術創作。這是一件持續做了近10年的事。但也許它不應該被稱為工作，因為無論在賣和不賣的情況下，我都會一直做下去。2）公益。我在一個公益機構裏做志願者，已經兩年了。我們用藝術陪伴（線上或線下）的方式去療愈年齡在4歲到10歲之間、患有血液病的兒童。具體說來就是會在每周的一個固定時段教他們做手工，陪他們聊天和玩耍。有些孩子病得非常重，只能生活在醫院的無菌病房中且隨時會有生命危險。我們希望能用藝術的方式使他們忘記病痛，開心生活在當下。3）教學。最初是在一個朋友開的留學機構裏，偶爾給學生輔導藝術作品集。這些學生的年齡在17到20歲之間，他們希望能去世界上最好的藝術學院學習。在幾個學生實現了自己的願望之後，有些朋友幹脆把自己的孩子或熟人的孩子也推薦給我。我就這麼隨緣地當起了老師。在教學過程中，我收獲了很多意想不到的快樂。4）家族事務。父母年紀漸長，他們更加專注於自己的愛好和社交圈，而逐漸將一些家裏的工作交給我來做。我大約從一年前開始學習金融，並參與家裏的一些投資項目。有時會代替他們參加一些會議和活動。

開車兜風 Go for a drive

 

旅行

 

2020年以前我特別喜歡旅行，大約在十年間去過二十多個國家。包括丹麥、泰國、意大利、梵蒂岡、法國、英國、德國、奧地利、捷克、荷蘭、比利時、盧森堡、挪威、馬來西亞、澳大利亞、西班牙、印度、日本、突尼斯、美國、希臘和瑞士。其中有8個國家去過兩次以上。那時，每年兩三次、每次十天到一個月左右的旅行，對於我來說非常重要。就像閱讀一樣，它不斷地改變和加深著我對時間、空間以及人的認知。但2020-2022年我沒有去任何地方旅行，就待在家裏。近三年來我的很多習慣被改變了，更多地做一些適合在室內做的事情。比如瑜伽、彈琴和畫畫。不過，今年開始，我又將開始新的旅行。

宅家  Stay at home

 

閱讀

 

曾經我很喜歡讀純文學。非常欣賞弗蘭茲·卡夫卡、伊塔洛·卡爾維諾、米哈伊爾·布爾加科夫、 瑪 格 麗 特· 尤 瑟 納 爾、 胡 安· 魯 爾 福、讓-皮 埃 爾· 熱 內和王小波這些作家。他們擅長用黑色幽默或荒誕的方式解構現實世界的殘酷。在面對生之無奈和死之恐懼時，他們始終充滿想象力和生命力，輻射著愛與寬容。在近些年我突然開始喜歡讀科幻，覺得它能夠給生活帶來無盡的可能性。我認為一個人所擁有的的世界，既不會超出也不會少於Ta所能掌控的語言。而閱讀使人不斷拓展可掌控的語言，進而拓展自己的世界。

司馬源：紫菜蛋花湯 Seaweed and Egg Soup

 

誦咒

 

2017年初，由於一次有驚無險的經曆，我開始持誦《大悲咒》。六年多來，我累計持誦過近4萬遍《大悲咒》，基本上每天背誦21遍。佛咒對於我來說，是一根可以鏈接四維以上世界的管道。我相信在宇宙裏，四維是較低的維度。而在更高的維度上，一定存在著更高維度的生命體和智慧。Ta們看我們，可能就像我們看一個平面。大悲咒對於我來說就是一種來自高維度的信息。所以當我誦讀它的時候，可以“借用”來自高維（觀音菩薩）的能量。使我實現一些在這個世界（娑婆世界）裏僅靠自己的力量無法完成的事情，幫助別人和自己。

司馬源

生於北京。先後住過東城區、朝陽區、海澱區、經開區。5歲半—16歲學鋼琴。10歲—12歲學遊泳。17歲第一次跟隨學校師生去丹麥做交流活動。大二開始參加大學的禮儀隊和模特隊。大三開始學跳各種拉丁系舞種。先後畢業於南京大學和倫敦藝術大學(LCC 學院)。畢業後至今的各種旅行經曆（請見前文：旅行）。英國留學前後曾經在以下幾個機構工作過（部分）：輝瑞（中國）投資有限公司、本來生活網、熊貓傳媒集團。在做第二份工作的時候，同時開始當代藝術創作。

目前是自由藝術家。作品曾在意大利威尼斯策展研究學院 G21 項目、南京藝術學院美術館、 望遠鏡藝術家工作室（TELESCOPE)、英國 FORMAT 國際攝影節、挪威卡布索美術館(Kabuso Art Museum)、泰達當代藝術博物館、中華世紀壇、天津美術館、英國中央聖馬丁藝術與設計學院等地展出。作為一名具有科學、藝術和佛學等多元背景的藝術家，司馬源以日常生活中的個人經驗為靈感，反應時代賦予個體的意義並展現當下人類的真實處境。在消費時代和網絡時代巨大信息洪流的沖擊下，她始終在探尋和保護某種隱秘卻能還原事物本質的禪性。

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