AN ENCOUNTER WITH BUGS: ZHU YINGCHUN’S BOOKS AND BUGS
虫逢：朱赢椿的书与虫

Eslite Spectrum Suzhou

20.11.2022 – 19.2.2023

Zhu Yingchun has been working on the Bug Series since 2010. His observation of bugs originated from the “boring playing” of his childhood, and this kind of observation and interpretation of nature’s essence is the most instinctive motive of human creativity. For more than a decade, Zhu has become a recorder of disorderly symbols, proving through his documentation the meaning of dissipative structures and nonequilibrium states that stem from life itself. This fascinating disorder is the eternal theme of the material world.

This solo exhibition, held at Eslite Spectrum Suzhou, presented key works from Zhu’s Bug Series, including books, installations, and the poetic traces left by bugs. Divided into three chapters, the exhibition retraced his evolving creative approach: from standing beside bugs and observing, to deconstructing their symbolic marks, and finally entering the world of bugs as companions.

Zhu deliberately preserves the signs left behind by bugs—scratches, trails, marks—through long-term observation and collection, transforming them into artworks in a subtle, personal, and paradigmatic way. Collaborating with twelve “bug artists,” Zhu invites viewers into a shared world of micro life, encouraging a fresh way of seeing what’s often overlooked.

The viewing experience emphasizes equality and interpretation. The works do not offer singular meanings but rather unfold as a collective micro-narrative of life. Every viewer's understanding becomes part of the exhibition. To encounter bugs is to reencounter the poetry of life.