Happynewyearproject

the first new year poster printed out from my parents studio, assisted through my dad's help, and my first initiative posting for the door of their studio.

In China, right before the spring festival, every family will stick new year posters on their door for praising happiness for their family. The symbolic patterns decoration on the poster is representative for people’s best wishes for happiness in a traditional and cultural way. Sticking red posters before Chinese New Year eve on the door as a very basic custom which comes down from generation to generation.

Using the modern logos as the only element to draw the Chinese zodiac signs in the traditional pattern, is the limitation I put on myself with this project.

过年好（原名：新年快乐计划）创作于2011年兔年，小时候经常外出写生，坐在阴凉处盯着阳光下牌楼里的图案，瞬间背下图案的组合规律，回到满眼发绿光中的纸上连默带编的画出来。大概在这样经历下积累了不少对传统图案的视觉经验。2011兔年的创作来的很即兴，当脑中闪过商品标识重组脱离它本身的语境，兔子可以是花花公子时，用商标画了一个民间兔子对我来说不是很难。贴，这一行为及发生过程也成了这个计划的重要部分。

龍 the traditional Chinese character of 龙(dragon) is the image I represent in the year of the dragon.

dragon year poster covered the traditional new year poster on a folk's door, the common elements "moon in the cloud" is the connection between these two prints.

my mom and I drove to one of the old neighborhoods in Beijing, and we left some posters on some doors we know, we don't know as a kind gesture before Chinese new year eve.

snake year poster on my landlord Susan's door when i was in Alfred, NY for graduate school. Susan wasn't quite understand my behavior initially, she took it down and left it in front of my room. I remembered we had a good conversation about it later.

9英寸＊9英寸

工厂廉价烫金印刷

限量300版

艺术家签名

Goat year 1 2015

9 inches * 9 inches

Chinese factory cheap print with gilding

Limited edition of 300

Signed by the artist

I asked my mom to help me print the year of the goat in a printing factory located in the suburbs of Beijing. This authentic new years poster was produced in a way for modern China and is a new language of printmaking I found for this project, for its quality, mass production and even that familiar smell of China.

As I read a lot of writings about the goat superstitions in Chinese zodiac signs before drafting its mythology. I intentionally tried not employing too many luxurious logos for the compositions of the coming year. What if these posters really work in the reality.

Goat is the animal who after stealing five seeds for humans from the Emperor of welkin lost his life. In the ancient times, in the world, humans relied on vegetables and wild grass for living. Because of this lack of nutrition, humans had a yellowish face, and a skinny body. One winter, a spiritual goat came from Welkin to Midgard, he found humans looked less energetic and pale faced. Because of this, he finally knew humans did not plant grains. And didn’t have any idea what grain was. The goat kindly told them he would bring the seeds for them when he came down the next time. during that period of time, the emperor of Welkin was the only place that planted nutritious grains. The Sting emperor of Welkin didn’t want to share the delicious grains with humans. When the goat went back to Welkin, he secretly took five seeds (the seeds of rice, millet, wheat, bean, fiber) from the land of the emperor of Welkin while he was sleeping. The goat keeping the five seeds inside of his mouth, came to the world before dawn. Humans were very curious about what to do with the five seeds. The goat showed the humans how to plant the seeds and went back to the sky. Humans started to plant the seeds, and harvested them that year. During the harvest time, humans saw the harvest spikes of the seeds that looked like the goat’s horn and tail. The harvest fiber sewing into light and warm clothes. Humans also celebrated the harvest ceremony in appreciation for the goat that winter. The huge ceremony startled the emperor on the sky. He thought, how does the grain exist in man’s world. He immediately wanted to discover the issue and finally found out it was the goat who brought the seeds to humans. Then he got very angry and commanded the soldiers on Welkin to kill the goat and let the humans eat the spiritual goat. The next year something happened, at the spiritual goat’s execution place, it grows grass and then lambs. From then on, goats are raised by humans, eating grass, and contributing his meat and milk to humans. Humans celebrate every year for the spirit of goat’s selfless dedication.

When human heard about the emperor of Welkin going to pick twelve kinds of animals as human’s zodiac signs to be spiritual Gods, humans insisted on choosing a goat as one of the signs. Even the emperor of welkin still held the grudge, but through the united agreement from humans, the goat finally became one of the 12 spiritual animals.

Creating new year poster as part of my spring festival celebration, playing with the graphic relationships easier and easier seems a little bit repetitive for me. Expanding logo's visual language into a form of idiom, even poetry is like expecting the fireworks, one by one.

2016猴年的创作里用以往象征符号（商品标识logo）来表现对仗，平仄，结构，形式相通、内容相连、言简意深...这可读性与可视性的结合是猴年的突破。

In chinese antithesis phrases, the matched forms and contents between the pair of expressions in a minimal, concise way, leaves more space for its deeper meanings.

Logo as this international language could be interepreted its hidden meanings in the very similar way.

CHRONODRIFT, An Alfred Print Media Print Alumni Exhibition,
the lumber room, Portland, Oregon, during the SGC (Southern Graphics Council) International 2016.

My grandfather was very proud of me for this prize I got from the China Artist Association through the monkey year couplets, in his eyes it means that me as the new generation follow his path of pursuing art.

125厘米＊45厘米＊2厘米（H＊W＊L）

画心: 55cm＊35cm

木刻版画，国画卷轴装裱

限量8版

艺术家签名

Monkey Year the image of “Peaches” for Longevity 2016

125cm＊45cm＊2cm（H＊W＊L）

image: 55cm＊35cm

Woodcut Print，Traditional Chinese Painting Framed

Limited edition of 8

Signed by the artist

Monkeys and peaches always go together that represents the symbol of blessing and the longevity of life.

115厘米＊45厘米＊2厘米（高＊宽＊长）

画心: 64厘米＊35厘米

木刻版画，国画卷轴装裱

限量8版

艺术家签名

Monkey Year the image of “喜喜”（double happiness）2016

115cm＊45cm＊2cm（H＊W＊L）

image: 64cm＊35cm

Woodcut Print，Traditional Chinese Painting Framed

Limited edition of 8

Signed by the artist

CHRONODRIFT, An Alfred Print Media Print Alumni Exhibition,
the lumber room, Portland, Oregon, during the SGC (Southern Graphics Council) International 2016.

猴年红包（一帆风顺，登月图1，大展鸿图，登月图2）

9.20cm＊17.3cm＊0.1cm（H＊W＊L）

环保纸烫金工艺

限量100版

艺术家签名

2016 Monkey Year Red Pocket（Everything goes well as a boat in the downwind，Heading to the moon1，Prosperous development like a bird with opening wings，Heading to the moon2）2016

9.20cm＊17.3cm＊0.1cm（H＊W＊L）

Gilding on recycled paper

Limited edition of 100

Signed by the artist

Rooster year "Blessing, Emolument, Longevity, Happiness" 2017 WeChat version

happynewyearproject.com was a website built for an ironic online shopping experience for developing further possibilities. The site is also decorated by some brand slogans that related to the coming year.

12英寸＊12英寸

丝网版画

限量35版

艺术家签名

Rooster year 2017

12inches * 12inches

Silk screen print

Limited edition of 35

Signed by the artist

The exhibition in Chinese Lan Su Garden in Portland for celebrating the year of the dog.

What if the poster reflects the current, with a little bit "nonsense". Somehow it has its own harmony, and creates a new culture, myth, then everything.

it was a little hard for me to write the description of dog year poster until i found that each logos has started by themselves.

Pig year prints 2019 , with the past years' prints exhibited at the Portland Chinatown Museum.

the documentary photos of this project collecting in an old style family photo album,

in a way for bringing this project from gallery wall zooming into the scale of our memories.