ILLUSTRATED:

I See the Happiness, Culture and Art Publishing House, Beijing, 2011, color illustrated, p. 59 & p. 171

Xiang Jing, born in Beijing in 1968, graduated from Central Academy of Fine Art in 1995; a "born artist" and a "master sculptor" described by critic Li Xianting. Her works have been collected and favored by many reputed art institutions and collectors such as National Art Museum of China, Beijing Contemporary Art Museum, Shanghai Art Museum and London Saatchi Gallery. She delivers her extraordinary view of the world through a wide range of works: from the portraying of female figures in a sensitive female perspective, to the broader and deeper discussion of human nature and human conditions.

The work "The Surface of the Water" is a highlighted piece from her series "I See Happiness". The girl is playing a flute; her shape and proportion are exaggerated, while the feature of her face fades into ordinary, which all expressed the artist's understanding of humanity in our times. The temperament of modern art is written all over this piece of sculpture, whether in form or conception; however, Xiang Jing managed to create a harmonic mood of freehand style of Chinese traditional painting in it. The artist unfolded such a peaceful yet vivid scene, where the girl seems like performing to the audience, but also looking at her own reflection on the water surface. Moreover, through this work, she revealed her emotions towards the world, and accomplished an exploration of the human nature of ordinary being in our era.