“The man in the mask”
2021
LI YAOZE
In this series of works, I explore the significance of each posture I assume during the creative process through the lens of human semiotics. Some figures kneel like devout believers, others sit in quiet contemplation. Some crouch low, silently witnessing change, while others seek the grounding presence of a stable platform.
Each body cradles the skulls with a languid, familiar intimacy—an embrace that carries both tenderness and weight. These sculptures speak without language. Instead, I aim to evoke a more instinctive, wordless expression—one that gestures toward the subtle relationship between existence and disappearance. The skulls here are not mere symbols, but witnesses of presence, linking the corporeal past with the living present.
在这一系列作品中，我通过人类符号学的视角探索在创作过程中每一种姿态所蕴含的意义。有些形象像虔诚信徒般跪着祈祷，有的则静坐沉思；有的低伏在地，默默见证着变化，而有的则寻求那稳固平台带来的依托。
每个身体都以一种慵懒而熟悉的亲密感轻柔地抱着骷髅——这种拥抱既饱含温柔，又富有分量。这些雕塑不依赖语言来表达内涵，而是我试图唤起一种更为本能、无言的表达方式，暗示着存在与消逝之间那种微妙的关联。这里的骷髅不仅仅是象征，它们作为存在的见证者，将有形的过去与充满生命的现在联系在了一起。