1971 — Present
Journey
From Kunming to Oslo, from studios to temples, from oil paint to social sculpture.
Born in Kunming
Born in Kunming, Yunnan. Naxi ethnicity — a descendant of the Mu Royal Family of Lijiang. Grew up on Wenlin Street, Kunming.
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Born in Kunming
Born in Kunming, Yunnan. Naxi ethnicity — a descendant of the Mu Royal Family of Lijiang. Grew up on Wenlin Street, Kunming.
Central Academy of Art & Design, Beijing
Artist-in-residence at the Central Academy of Art & Design, Beijing — his first sustained encounter with the Chinese contemporary art world before leaving for Oslo.
Central Academy of Art & Design, Beijing
Artist-in-residence at the Central Academy of Art & Design, Beijing — his first sustained encounter with the Chinese contemporary art world before leaving for Oslo.
Norwegian Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Oslo
Bachelor of Fine Arts, Department of Experimental Art, Norwegian Royal Academy of Fine Arts. Four years in Oslo — the education that shifted his practice from image-making toward conceptual and performance work.
Norwegian Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Oslo
Bachelor of Fine Arts, Department of Experimental Art, Norwegian Royal Academy of Fine Arts. Four years in Oslo — the education that shifted his practice from image-making toward conceptual and performance work.
Killing — Experimental Film
Created the experimental short film Killing — selected for the Asian Experimental Art Film Festival and toured Norway and multiple Asian countries. A reflection on the essence of life and the nature of violence. The foundation of an experimental practice that would never stop.
Killing — Experimental Film
Created the experimental short film Killing — selected for the Asian Experimental Art Film Festival and toured Norway and multiple Asian countries. A reflection on the essence of life and the nature of violence. The foundation of an experimental practice that would never stop.
Lijiang Studio & 20 Days
Co-founded Lijiang Studio with American curator Jay Brown — one of Yunnan's first non-profit international artist residency platforms. The 2004 catalogue Lijiang China Studio/Residence was permanently collected by IberLibro and international art platforms. In the same year: 20 Days at Kunming Creative Warehouse — the concept was 20 days, 20 countries. Each day abstractly translated a different country's cultural core through body and local materials, with no preset outcomes. Later toured Oslo (2004) and Binic, France (2005).
Lijiang Studio & 20 Days
Co-founded Lijiang Studio with American curator Jay Brown — one of Yunnan's first non-profit international artist residency platforms. The 2004 catalogue Lijiang China Studio/Residence was permanently collected by IberLibro and international art platforms. In the same year: 20 Days at Kunming Creative Warehouse — the concept was 20 days, 20 countries. Each day abstractly translated a different country's cultural core through body and local materials, with no preset outcomes. Later toured Oslo (2004) and Binic, France (2005).
Himalaya — French Government Collaboration
In official collaboration with the French Government, created Himalaya — cross-regional installations and film exploring the symbiotic relationship between landscape, culture, and humanity. Exhibited across France.
Himalaya — French Government Collaboration
In official collaboration with the French Government, created Himalaya — cross-regional installations and film exploring the symbiotic relationship between landscape, culture, and humanity. Exhibited across France.
Rijksakademie, Amsterdam
Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten, Amsterdam — one of the most selective artist residencies in Europe. Supported by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Concurrent solo exhibitions: An Illusory Character Made in China (Amsterdam) and The Period of the Great Revolution (Marseille and Lijiang).
Rijksakademie, Amsterdam
Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten, Amsterdam — one of the most selective artist residencies in Europe. Supported by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Concurrent solo exhibitions: An Illusory Character Made in China (Amsterdam) and The Period of the Great Revolution (Marseille and Lijiang).
Hiscox Art Award, Amsterdam — Family Portrait, Lijiang
Solo exhibition Family Portrait at Haidong Studio, Lijiang — installations and family narrative exploring Naxi identity and cultural inheritance. Works selected for the Hiscox Art Award group exhibition in Amsterdam. Group exhibition Parts in Xiamen. Three shows across two continents in one year.
Hiscox Art Award, Amsterdam — Family Portrait, Lijiang
Solo exhibition Family Portrait at Haidong Studio, Lijiang — installations and family narrative exploring Naxi identity and cultural inheritance. Works selected for the Hiscox Art Award group exhibition in Amsterdam. Group exhibition Parts in Xiamen. Three shows across two continents in one year.
Farmer Station — Experimental Rural Bauhaus
Launched Farmer Station in rural Yunnan — proposing the concept of an Experimental Rural Bauhaus. Rooted in the village, transforming rural spaces with art, building a community education system. He adopted the name Farmer Mu, deliberately erasing the elite-art label.
Farmer Station — Experimental Rural Bauhaus
Launched Farmer Station in rural Yunnan — proposing the concept of an Experimental Rural Bauhaus. Rooted in the village, transforming rural spaces with art, building a community education system. He adopted the name Farmer Mu, deliberately erasing the elite-art label.
Genealogy — New Zealand Government Collaboration
In official collaboration with the New Zealand Government, implemented Genealogy — oral history, image installation, and cross-cultural research connecting Eastern and Western family cultures, exploring the cross-border expression of blood, identity, and belonging.
Genealogy — New Zealand Government Collaboration
In official collaboration with the New Zealand Government, implemented Genealogy — oral history, image installation, and cross-cultural research connecting Eastern and Western family cultures, exploring the cross-border expression of blood, identity, and belonging.
Give Myself Away for a Year
One full year: no pay, no art-world activity. Social services, folk labor, public welfare. The body as the only medium. A direct test of whether art could be lived rather than made.
Give Myself Away for a Year
One full year: no pay, no art-world activity. Social services, folk labor, public welfare. The body as the only medium. A direct test of whether art could be lived rather than made.
Life as Game — A Lifelong Work
Launched the lifelong project Life as Game — incorporating the whole of existence into art creation. Daily behavior, spiritual practice, and social engagement as creative medium. The core: Life is Art. Still ongoing.
Life as Game — A Lifelong Work
Launched the lifelong project Life as Game — incorporating the whole of existence into art creation. Daily behavior, spiritual practice, and social engagement as creative medium. The core: Life is Art. Still ongoing.
Ten Years of Silence — Myanmar Monastery
Became a monk in Myanmar. No publication, no gallery exhibitions, no commercial art-world activity — for ten years. The silence was itself the work. Within this period: May 2013, invited to the 23rd Hungary MEDIAWAVE Festival, on-site works collected. 2014, created installation Bridge at COART Asia Youth Art Festival, Shuhe, Lijiang — nail installation on connection and estrangement. 2017, began three years of private seclusion.
Ten Years of Silence — Myanmar Monastery
Became a monk in Myanmar. No publication, no gallery exhibitions, no commercial art-world activity — for ten years. The silence was itself the work. Within this period: May 2013, invited to the 23rd Hungary MEDIAWAVE Festival, on-site works collected. 2014, created installation Bridge at COART Asia Youth Art Festival, Shuhe, Lijiang — nail installation on connection and estrangement. 2017, began three years of private seclusion.
MACL Contemporary Art Museum, Quebec
Artist-in-residence at MACL Contemporary Art Museum, Quebec, Canada — an international residency within his decade of silence, connecting his practice to the North American contemporary art context.
MACL Contemporary Art Museum, Quebec
Artist-in-residence at MACL Contemporary Art Museum, Quebec, Canada — an international residency within his decade of silence, connecting his practice to the North American contemporary art context.
ChuangTzu Project
Implemented the ChuangTzu Project (2017–2019) in Bajie, Anning, Yunnan — a rural art community, an academy, and a pastoral complex. Art education, ecological farming, and cross-cultural exchange woven together. The guiding principle: Serving the People.
ChuangTzu Project
Implemented the ChuangTzu Project (2017–2019) in Bajie, Anning, Yunnan — a rural art community, an academy, and a pastoral complex. Art education, ecological farming, and cross-cultural exchange woven together. The guiding principle: Serving the People.
The Hundred-Day Journal
During studio isolation, a hundred-day daily journal on WeChat — raw, philosophical, intimate. Simultaneously, the Second Face / Maska series explored identity and the outer self, connecting Naxi creation mythology with international collaboration.
The Hundred-Day Journal
During studio isolation, a hundred-day daily journal on WeChat — raw, philosophical, intimate. Simultaneously, the Second Face / Maska series explored identity and the outer self, connecting Naxi creation mythology with international collaboration.
Five Hundred Arhats
Launched Five Hundred Arhats — painting, sculpture, and performance combined, shaping portraits of contemporary all living beings. The global online premiere drew audiences across continents. The project is ongoing, a meditation on collective humanity and the integration of spirituality and the secular.
Five Hundred Arhats
Launched Five Hundred Arhats — painting, sculpture, and performance combined, shaping portraits of contemporary all living beings. The global online premiere drew audiences across continents. The project is ongoing, a meditation on collective humanity and the integration of spirituality and the secular.
OUR CHILDREN — Chiang Mai
Under the new identity Hei Qiu'en, launched OUR CHILDREN in Chiang Mai, Thailand — focusing on COVID-19 orphans, providing art assistance, psychological companionship, and free teaching. The guiding principle: learning art with Lao Mu is not only free but also earns you something.
OUR CHILDREN — Chiang Mai
Under the new identity Hei Qiu'en, launched OUR CHILDREN in Chiang Mai, Thailand — focusing on COVID-19 orphans, providing art assistance, psychological companionship, and free teaching. The guiding principle: learning art with Lao Mu is not only free but also earns you something.
My Flesh — Role Performance Art
Launched My Flesh — a role performance art project built around two mirror characters: Meng Chunsheng and Chun Mengsheng, whose names are exact reversals of each other. One carries the secular self — identity, responsibility, social rules. The other carries the spiritual self — desire, dreams, the unfiltered life. Through live performance, text, and social interaction, the two play out the contradictions inside a single person.
My Flesh — Role Performance Art
Launched My Flesh — a role performance art project built around two mirror characters: Meng Chunsheng and Chun Mengsheng, whose names are exact reversals of each other. One carries the secular self — identity, responsibility, social rules. The other carries the spiritual self — desire, dreams, the unfiltered life. Through live performance, text, and social interaction, the two play out the contradictions inside a single person.
She Nian Fo (舍念佛)
The She Nian Fo project at Pa Pae meditation centre in Chiang Mai — a social sculpture rooted in Buddhist practice. A 44-page document of deep retreat, presence, and the art of letting go.
She Nian Fo (舍念佛)
The She Nian Fo project at Pa Pae meditation centre in Chiang Mai — a social sculpture rooted in Buddhist practice. A 44-page document of deep retreat, presence, and the art of letting go.
No.12 Art Camp
On the road in Wenzhou, meeting the host of No.12 Art Camp — a man described as a living arhat, one who speaks to the divine and moves lightly through the world. The journey continues.
No.12 Art Camp
On the road in Wenzhou, meeting the host of No.12 Art Camp — a man described as a living arhat, one who speaks to the divine and moves lightly through the world. The journey continues.
The journey continues