Born in Shanghai, China, in 1947. At the age of 47, Xunmu Wu began to teach himself oil painting, seeking to sort through and record his early life as a shepherd and the reflections shaped by decades of real-world experience.
Xunmu Wu (吴训木) — Artist Biography
Timeline
1947
Born in Shanghai, China.
出生于中国上海。
Teenage Years
Worked as a shepherd deep in the Tianshan Mountains of Xinjiang, China.
在中国新疆天山深处牧羊。
1970s
Worked on the Karakoram Highway in the Kashmir region, linking Xinjiang, China, with northern Pakistan.
在克什米尔地区、连接中国新疆与巴基斯坦北部的喀喇昆仑公路从事筑路工作。
1980s–1990s
Travelled extensively through Tibet, Yunnan, Sichuan, Guizhou and other regions of China, photographing and recording ethnic minority cultures and ways of life gradually passing from view.
长期徒步穿行中国西藏、云南、四川、贵州等地，拍摄并记录许多逐渐远去的少数民族人文面貌。
Age 47
Began teaching himself oil painting.
47岁起自修油画。
1990s–Present
Continued exploring artistic practice, gradually developing his own artistic language.
持续探索艺术创作，并逐渐形成自己的艺术语言。
More than half a century ago, deep within the Tianshan Mountains of Xinjiang, a young shepherd leaned against the sheepfold, keeping watch through the night. He beat on a sheet of metal to ward off wolves while his eyes lifted to the heavy, silent stars above. He wished so deeply to climb past that vast sea of stars and see what lay beyond—but he fell asleep.
In the decades that followed, this ordinary body did countless ordinary jobs: a wandering painter, a dock laborer, walking cargo across a thirty-five-centimeter-wide plank from boat to shore, unloading a full shipment of goods, loading them onto trucks—work originally meant for three men.
“Boss, let me handle it alone.”
半个多世纪前，新疆天山深处，有个年轻牧人靠在羊栏边守夜。他一面敲铁皮吓唬狼，一面仰看繁星沉重，他多想翻过那片群星，去看看不知道，可是他睡着了。
以后的数十年里，这个平庸的身体，做过太多的平庸事：流浪油漆工，码头搬运工，三十五公分木板，一整船货，背上卡车，三个人的活计，每人五毛。
“老板，你让我一个人干吧。”