Liang Shaoji

Liang Shaoji is a Chinese conceptual artist. He exhibits internationally.

Background Liang originates from Zhongshan, however was born in Shanghai in 1945.

He studied at the school for fine arts in Zhejiang and obtained his degree there in 1965. Later he studied at the Varbanov Institute for Textile Art, which is part of the Art Academy of Zhejiang. He completed this study in 1986. In 1988 he started to cultivate silk worms, to meet his attraction to rough silk which he uses amply in his art works.

He exhibits internationally. Among others, he has presented his work at the biennales of Venice (1999), Istanbul (1999), Lyon (2000) and Shanghai (2000 and 2006).

Candles (no. 87) is another work from his Natural Series. Here he places pieces of bamboo on a row, filled them with wax, and weaved silk threads around them. This work is a presentation of funerals and Buddhist rituals and goes back to an old Chinese poem from the 9th century, in which a comparison is made between the last drop the wax of a candle and the last end of a thread of a silk worm.

Helmets (no. 102) is a memorial of the victims under miners. The work consists of miner helmets covered with a web of fine silk as an expression of the fear and pain that are suppressed in these helmets.

Awards Liang received a number of awards. In 2002, he was honored with a Chinese Contemporary Art Award.

In 2009, Liang was honored with a Prince Claus Award from the Netherlands. He received the award for his "evocative artworks that offer a meditative approach in which art becomes nature and nature becomes art, for his artistic integrity in working outside the mainstream, and for his insightful investigation of the ethics of the human condition and relationship with nature."