8 Times 8

The number 8 plays a crucial role in mythology. In Asian art this can be seen in the 8 trigrams of the I Ching, the 8 Immortals, the 8 Buddhist symbols and the 8 Auspicious symbols. These interrelated elements are often depicted as a group of 8 in the form of a serial narrative, which are supplemented by motifs of pairs, figures or scenes from stories, landscapes, plants, flowers, animals, ornaments and symbols.

To illustrate this point, nine objects—each consisting of eight sections or eight motifs—were selected from the UMAG collection. The items, including an eight-part panel with silk painting, each demonstrate the diversity and richness of serial narratives in Chinese art and craftsmanship. In addition to the narrative structure, these eight-part objects can be understood as components of superordinate systems. In the microcosm of their diverse details, they refer to the macrocosm of mythology, which results in a network of relationships that continuously refer back to one another.

These traditional works of applied art have been juxtaposed with six contemporary artists—YAU Wing Fung, Daphne Alexis HO, YU Hee, Adrian FALKNER, Klaus MERKEL and Arvid BOECKER—so as to demonstrate that serial and systemic narratives are still being used today as artistic strategies. Systemic is used here in the sense that individual works of art can be seen as part of a larger overall system with interrelated elements.