Lu Pingyuan created a new mythological figure, Wencang Tianzun, for Asia Art Archive (AAA), inspired by his ongoing interest in algorithmic divination and the tensions between technology and belief. Conceived specifically for AAA, Wencang Tianzun will serve as the archive’s symbolic guardian of documentation, appearing invisibly across a range of media—including digital platforms, printed publications, woodblock prints, and promotional materials.
Drawing freehand directly on a digital screen, Lu renders Wencang Tianzun through a concise, calligraphic line language that resembles handwriting. The act of drawing itself alludes to writing and archiving within the digital realm, reflecting the evolving responsibilities and mission of organising, preserving, and transmitting artistic knowledge in the present day.
In developing Wencang Tianzun, Lu Pingyuan drew extensively on the iconography of guardian deities found in traditional Chinese culture, incorporating visual languages from folk painting, woodblock prints, and pictographic writing. Assisted by AI and informed by his understanding of the work carried out by Asia Art Archive (AAA), he personified the institution’s vital role in preserving and archiving the histories of Asian art through the creation of this new deity.
Wencang Tianzun functions not only as a vehicle for storytelling, but also as a personification of the Archive’s ongoing work of collecting, organising, and preserving artistic knowledge. It marks the beginning of a new mythology—one that seeks not only to safeguard existing histories, but also to inspire the creation and preservation of stories yet to come.
About Asia Art Archive
Asia Art Archive (AAA) is an independent, non-profit organisation founded in 2000. Dedicated to preserving the multiple histories of modern and contemporary art in Asia, AAA facilitates the collection, preservation, and circulation of art historical resources to support research, education, and public engagement.
Website:www.aaa.org.hk
About the Artist: Lu Pingyuan
Lu Pingyuan (b. 1984, Zhejiang, China) lives and works in Shanghai. His practice stems from a sustained interest in the intangible nature of human spirituality and belief. Through the creation and circulation of stories, Lu explores how human experience is transmitted, transformed, and reimagined over time. Building on this premise, he has developed a multidisciplinary practice that brings together art history, popular culture, and personal experience across text, moving image, painting, sculpture, and installation.
Combining surrealist narrative with conceptual art, Lu constructs an expansive fictional universe that runs parallel to reality, revealing the spiritual dilemmas of contemporary life while reactivating the latent connections between human beings and the world around them.
His work has been exhibited internationally, including Fortune Lot (HEM, Shunde, China, 2024); Gods Pass Down, People Pass On Gods (MadeIn Gallery, Shanghai, China, 2024); Laojun’s Alchemy Furnace (White Rabbit Gallery, Sydney, Australia, 2024); 目: China Imagined (Centre Pompidou, Paris, France, 2024); Cooking to Entice, Enticing to Cook, My Lovely Life (OCAT Shenzhen, China, 2022); the 11th Shanghai Biennale (Power Station of Art, Shanghai, China, 2016); and the 9th Liverpool Biennial (Liverpool, UK, 2016), among others.