Silken touch

[Photo provided to China Daily]

The work he mentioned is multiple pyramids covered by silk threads. He takes photos of them by putting them into different places around the world.

His first major work, Bed, in the Nature Series was commenced in 1989 and continues today. He raised silkworms within tiny bedsteads. And in his work Listening to the Silkworms, he invited visitors to listen to the sound of silkworms eating leaves. Later, he added the sound of his own breathing.

Last week, Liang was selected by New Century Art Foundation as one of the five artists to be funded for one year. The art project sponsored by Remy Martin Louis XIII supports Chinese artists who make creative works based on traditional materials.

Liang says he respects traditions, adding he is deeply influenced by Taoism, especially the ideology of the Zhuangzi, an ancient text that advocates using limited resources to pursue unlimited goals.

"Only at death does the silkworm's thread reach an end. Then it gets a new life and it cycles over and over again," Liang says, explaining why he is obsessed with working with living silkworms.

Although the artist is 69 years old, he sustains great passion for his work, saying his art ends when life ends. One artist he greatly respects: a German who has spent all his life collecting pollen.