| From 2002 to 2004 I have done three pieces of work, drawing inspiration from my sexuality. They are My Emotions and Sex, The Great Wall and Races. The three pieces support each other and show the progression of my thoughts. I wanted to demonstrate the different structures in society through portrayal of diverse subject matters. The result is a combination of social influence and my artistic concept. My Emotions and Sex was originally a documentation of my love life and my sexual experience. Later on it included prostitutes as a subject. In The Great Wall, I expanded the sexual experience, using the Great Wall, a cultural and military representation of China, as the backdrop. Races is about conflicts people encounter in modern civilization. | 
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Chen Guang is a Beijing-based artist.
Chen Guang, Races, 2006. Oil on canvas, 250 x 200 cm. Courtesy of Gallery TN.From 2002 to 2004 I have done three pieces of work, drawing inspiration from my sexuality. They are My Emotions and Sex, The Great Wall and Races. The three pieces support each other and show the progression of my thoughts. I wanted to demonstrate the different structures in society through portrayal of diverse subject matters. The result is a combination of social influence and my artistic concept.
My Emotions and Sex was originally a documentation of my love life and my sexual experience. Later on it included prostitutes as a subject. In The Great Wall, I expanded the sexual experience, using the Great Wall, a cultural and military representation of China, as the backdrop. Races is about conflicts people encounter in modern civilization.
During the search for models for Races, I have found six senior males who were interested in my project. Some of them were not qualified because they were not 80 years old, which was a prerequisite. Others did not have a high-education background. Still others had health issues. It was difficult to find the perfect model because some people decided to drop out as we discussed further possibilities of what the project might lead to.
Among the six elderly candidates, Wang Xi-Zhen met most of the requirements. We had about seven meetings regarding the project. The discussions during the meetings helped Wang look back on his life. It was like a retrospective that detailed the traces of his existence in this world.
My work is not a direct reflection of society or life. It derives from myself, from culture, from different kinds of “viruses” in life. It is, therefore, a personal experience I present to viewers that I hope would help them face the world as our civilization progresses.
