This article is reprinted from Chinadaily.com.cn| Jun.12,2020
Pierre Alivon, a French photographer and sculptor, took thousands of photos of Beijing's bleak street scenes in February when the country was battling the viral outbreak at full tilt. Meanwhile, he has tried to reflect the devotion and fearless spirit he perceived in his random subjects in a sculpture.
"I take photographs daily. And all the emotions and qualities that I captured with my camera those days, I have projected in this sculpture," Alivon told China Daily website.
The bronze sculpture he created in early April is Dragon, featuring a masked soldier with a dragon hovering above his head.
"To fight the epidemic, everyone has become a soldier," said Alivon, a Parisian who has been living in Beijing since September 2015, a month after he came to China.
It's after hearing "We're at war", a short but powerful message delivered by both Chinese and French leaders, that he was inspired to create the piece, the sculptor said.
"The message resonated with me as I saw nurses rushing to save lives and delivery men and sanitation workers braving bad weather to keep the city on track while the rest were voluntarily staying home to avoid potential infections," he added.
The sculptor explained that he used the soldier as a symbol not only of health professionals who fought on the front lines but of everyone else who did their part, big or small, to flatten the curve.
Alivon also made the solider wear headphones, listening to music while gazing at the sky. "He might be thinking about good things at the end of the epidemic – kissing his parents, pampering his children and hanging out with friends," he said.
The other half of the bronze is a dragon, a revered creature in Chinese mythology which the sculptor believes represents "the solidarity among the Chinese people in fighting an unknown virus".
Symbolic of "the pure energy and honesty of the soul", the image of the dragon was first used in his 2019 statue Hope, also featuring the ancient Chinese legendary figure Nyuwa, the creator of human beings.
"We all have the dragon's energy in us, but to release it, we must believe in a brotherly world or fraternity among people," said Alivon, who added that fraternity, the founding principle of his country, has been an important message in his work.
To promote the values he believes in, Alivon also created ART520, a blog on the Chinese messaging app WeChat. There he shares his photographic work of common people that he has captured around the world, as well as his interviews in artists' studios.
The sculptor wants to donate a copy of Dragon to a museum. He is also looking for sponsors who can help produce more copies of the sculpture and give them as gifts to people who have done a lot for the community, such as the nursing staff.
"France loves China, and I am very happy to bring the two cultures together through my work, and at the moment to express my solidarity with Chinese people," he said.
Pierre Alivon poses for a picture in front of his sculpture Dragon. [Photo from chinadaily.com.cn]
Pierre Alivon poses for a picture in front of his 2019 sculpture Hope. [Photo from chinadaily.com.cn]
Dragon, a bronze sculpture created by Pierre Alivon, features a masked solider and a dragon. [Photo from chinadaily.com.cn]
Hope, a bronze sculpture created by Pierre Alivon, features a dragon and the Chinese mythological figure Nvwa. [Photo from chinadaily.com.cn]
