Artists put animals in the frame

Dolphins, pangolins, cats, chickens, fireflies, butterflies, deer, and hippos, became inspirations for both painters and musicians at a Beijing exhibition.

Released on Oct 15 by Tencent Music Entertainment Group and Beijing-based record company, Beijing Youcishan Culture Media Co. Ltd, the compilation, titled All Creation: Encounter with Animals, was unveiled at the UCCA Center for Contemporary Art in 798 Art Zone in Beijing.

Audiences enjoyed eight paintings by contemporary artists, including Chinese artist Wu Chen, Spanish artist Daniel Sueiras Fanjul and Japanese artist Shinya Sato, while listening to eight songs attached to each painting, by singer-songwriters, such as pop duo Good Meimei, Chen Li and Jiao Maiqi.

The idea of the album was initiated by Xi Tao, founder of Beijing Youcishan Culture Media Co. Ltd, who is also an art collector.

"For many of us, spending time with animals helps to relieve anxiety, especially during the pandemic. Over the last few months, we shared similar situations, such as working from home and adjusting our new life tempos due to the coronavirus pandemic. Together with my musician friends of our company, we have reflected on how a simple connection with an animal, be it a commonly seen cat or a deer, we rarely spot in our daily lives can be of benefit," says Xi, who founded the music company in 2017 and is keen on promoting original Chinese music.

Xi asked eight singer-songwriters of his company to name an animal, which first came to their minds. He didn't tell them that it was going to be a music project. After getting the names of the eight animals, Xi let the eight singer-songwriters draw lots to decide their themes for each song.