Author: HUANG YONGPING 黄永砯
Size: 140×250×3000cm
Signed and dated: Made in 2000
Estimate: Estimate Upon Request
Final Price: unsold
LITERATURE
2005 House of Oracles. A Huang Yongping Retrospective/P54-57/Walker Art Center/Minneapolis
2007 Huang Yongping/P83/Sichuan Fine Arts Publishing House
2009 China Talks：Interviews with 32 Contemporary Artists by Jérôme Sans/P23/SDX Joint Publishing Company
EXHIBITED
2000 Python，Hannoversch Münden，Germany
2005 House of Oracles：A Huang Yongping Retrospective （travelling exhibition），Walker Art Center，Minneapolis，USA
2006 House of Oracles：A Huang Yongping Retrospective （travelling exhibition），MASS MoCA，North Adams，USA
2007 House of Oracles：A Huang Yongping Retrospective （travelling exhibition），Vancouver Art Gallery，Vancouver，Canada
2008 House of Oracles：A Huang Yongping Retrospective （travelling exhibition），Ullens Center for Contemporary Art，Beijing
2009 The 4th Fukuoka Asian Art Triennale，Fukuoka Asian Art Museum，Fukuoka，Japan
NOTICE
The work is to be handled and claimed in Hong Kong，China. Please contact Beijing Poly Auction Modern and Contemporary Department Staff for further details.
Python’s Tail，his work in 2000，was intentionally created for the exhibition space in German. This is also what makes Huang so important and special. More often than not，he will be invited to create an art piece in a certain time，for a certain place，or in a certain cultural environment. Therefore，his artwork depends on the accident of timing and space，and it is because of this nature，his creativity and imagination can be spurred，allowing him to translate and express the existing cultural resources and temporary key elements.
His work，Python’s Tail is also known as “Snaky Rod”. And snaky rod，as an imagery symbol，is repetitively used in his work，developing various meanings. The origin of “snaky rod” is from western Christianity culture. In one chapter of exodus，Moses does Jehovah’s bidding，leading the Ephraim to the Promised Land in Egypt. On their way there，poisonous snakes bit them. Moses then prayed to the god for the cure. God turned Moses’ rod into a snake，which then turned into a snaky rod. All people who got bitten would be cured after looking at the snaky rod. Therefore，for the initial meaning of this symbol，snaky rod is the incarnation of redemption，while Huang has been using the concept of “snaky rod” in his work in different time periods. By using it with different objects and in different occasions，various meanings have been developed.
In 2000，Python’s Tail was first used in his work in the form of viper bone. Until 2009，in his work Serpent Tower Model，he mingled the skeleton of snake and architecture，making the snake pagoda seems to be a Babylon pagoda，implying the meaning of history，religion and culture. In 2012，created by the firth of Loire River in France，he made use of the model of the skeleton of a snake to display the contrast between Chinese mythology images and European coastal line. This implies the self-realization of identity and cultural fusion. In 2014，for his work Python’s Tail，its huge body is entrenched in the exhibition hall，while being awe-inspiring； such implicit cultural symbol triggers viewers’ thoughts. In 2016，he created Empires，using the concept of snaky rod，together with colorful import and export containers. This combination visually stimulate viewers to think and discuss about the interrelationship between culture，profit and power under globalization. “Snaky rod”，in the form of “Snake bone” or a combination of snake bone and snaky rod，continuously creating new dimensions，and undoubtedly，his work Python’s Tail created in 2000 is the pioneer.
As for this art piece，Python’s Tail，Huang made use of wood to piece together an “python” with 30 meters in length and 1.4 meters in height. This shows his great practical skills，his control in details and pursuit for perfection. This huge wooden python model hovers in the air，zigzagging to the ground. It seems that it has the ability to do everything，going up to outer space or get into the earth，occupying the entire exhibition space. Focusing on the shape of the art piece，the actual shape of python is made of wood，which is a very Chinese way of expression，and he continues using such expression in his future creation. At the same time，the coordination of the work reveals the connection between python and the nature of other animals or natural products，creating a contrast with the exhibition space，which represents a cultural meaning. Therefore，this art piece implies Huang’s reflection towards art and life，nature and culture，while scrutinizing the purpose of the existence of art. As a natural，animalized and eastern creature，purposefully putting python in such a context with a mixture of east and west provides a sense of impromptu-ness. Python，as a traditional symbol from the western Christianity，together with its appearance，which is identical to the eastern dragon，is used by Huang to reveal the contrast between the western symbol that symbolizes redemption and the eastern symbol，which means power and bravery.
