Chickens Turning Into Little Cars Woodblock print; ink on pi zhi bast paper

Curator: Chen Haiyan's 1986 woodblock print, "Chickens Turning Into Little Cars," strikes me as both whimsical and strangely unsettling. Editor: Unsettling is right! It's like a child's nightmare, those scribbled cars and frantic birds. The bold black ink makes it feel urgent, almost desperate. Curator: Well, chickens are a potent symbol. They can signify domesticity, fertility, but also vulnerability, particularly when juxtaposed with machines—objects often linked to progress and power. Editor: And the figure at the top, arms outstretched? Is it a scarecrow, a conductor, or someone caught in the middle of this…transformation? It's like a primal scream in ink. I feel like the artist has captured a cultural anxiety. Curator: The integration of text further enriches the visual narrative. It speaks directly to this sense of movement and evolution. It is a complex piece. Editor: Indeed. I appreciate how it forces us to confront the chaotic dance between nature and technology, progress and loss, the familiar and the utterly bizarre.