Artist Statement
This series artworks I presented is a series I wanted to do for a long time. Because of the video game “BioShock 2”, steampunk has been deeply attracted to me. Like there is a magic that makes me keep looking for steampunk illustrations. As we all know, the steam age started in England in the 1860s, which was also the beginning of the industrial revolution. For me, the intricacies of pipes and gears are art in themselves. I often wonder how the world would be different now if steam engines had been developed in China during the booming industrial revolution in the West. Western culture values rationality, which is why we can see that the steam engine is massive, heavy, and solid. Chinese culture values sensitivity. So, I believe that if China had developed the steam engine, it would have brought a different sense of art to the world. Having a love for both Chinese culture and steampunk culture, I had an idea to fuse the two cultures when I started learning to draw, especially the Chinese Wuxia culture. Wuxia, which means “martial art heroes”, Wuxia represents a class of people who grew up practicing martial arts in ancient China. For them, after 20 years of martial arts practice, they would travel around. It is their duty to get rid of bullies and bring peace to the people. And give them such a mission is their master. Let WuXia culture and steampunk collide with each other. Keeping the heaviness of steampunk, thus supporting the ethereal nature of WuXia culture. This is the reason why this series was born.