Master Jia-Yi Lin, now forty eight years old, was born in Chiayi. He devoted over twenty years of his life into the art of Buddhist sculpture making. Not only did he mastered various techniques, he realizes the three significant elements: clarity, smoothness, and elegance. Clarity indicates the sculpture's shape and form must be apparent and clear; smoothness means the intricate lines of thread must be continuous and round, uninterrupted; elegance signifies the emphasis on and elegance details, not only the overall structure. According to master Jia-Yi Lin, only by mastering these three elements, make it very exact, will one be able to create a perfect lacquer thread god statue. To master Jia-Yi Lin, lacquer thread sculpture is not only a technique that sticks lacquer thread onto those god statues, but also an art filled with spirit.
image source: shoot by ourself
The pictures of many artworks displayed on the walls, the numerous exquisite god statues with many threads — covered with the powerful, smooth and elegant lacquer threads — each displaying the story of the god statue. With developed modern technology, 3D technologies gradually matured. However, when it comes to lacquer thread, the machine may not be as meticulous as skilled craftsmen. Master Jia-Yi Lin insists on sculpting each statue by hand because he believes no matter how powerful the machine is, it cannot completely reproduce the delicate and elegance of the products coiled by the true lacquer thread sculptors. In addition, in the 21st century when Buddhist statues were not as prosperous as in the early days, Jia-Yi Lin, instead of changing career, continued to create god statues. "The statue of gods is the most fundamental memory of the lacquer thread sculpture because such technique was developed on the statue of gods at the earliest time." The statue of god is not a flat body, thus, to match his clothing pattern transitions, the lines in the sculpture ought to be soft and smooth. Therefore, the lacquer thread sculpture on the statue is the most difficult, but also the most exquisite and best reflects the characteristics of the lacquer thread sculpture.
Based on Buddhist statues, master Jia-Yi Lin often adds creative ideas different from traditions into his works. For example, on the statue of Bao Qingtian, Jia-Yi Lin said that in order to express the "memory" of Bao Qingtian as a judge in the zone between life and death, different from the traditional dragon and phoenix, he chose to engrave the pattern of Tai Chi and complementary black and
image source: shoot by ourself
white elements on Bao Qingtian. It is a figure that moves freely between yin and yang. Breaking through the traditional framework while maintaining the unique beauty of traditional art, Jia-Yi Lin not only has experience, but also a spirit of learning. Jia-Yi Lin revealed that he didn't know anything about art when he was a kid and he often needed help from his classmates; however, even when he encountered problems with having ideas but poor skills during the early years of his career, master Lin did not give up. Instead, he self-repented and practiced over and over again to develop his current skill.
As of today, master Jia-Yi Lin is still studying the traditional art of lacquer carving. In his spare time, Jia-Yi Lin often looks at designs from other countries for reference. He once said, “we can learn a lot from books, even if they are foriegn books, the ideas can still be incorporated into lacquer thread sculptures.” Not limited to Chinese traditional arts, master Lin also refers to German royal jewelry designs to get inspiration, bringing new styles of lacquer thread sculpting into his own works.
Growing up, master Jia-Yi Lin did poorly in school. After graduating from middle school, his parents hoped that master Jia-Yi Lin would not only attend high school, but also learn a useful skill to help support his family. When he was young, master Jia-Yi Lin wanted to become a baker, however, the objection from his family and the influence from his uncle, who worked as a sculptor, led master Jia-Yi Lin to pursue a job in the sculpturing industry. At
image source: shoot by ourself
the beginning, master Lin learned to carve wood. The constant repeating movement of polishing wood with sandpaper everyday caused master Lin to feel bored, thus having thoughts about giving up. Nevertheless, the encouragement from his teacher and the respect his teacher received made master Lin once again develop his interest in sculpting. While learning wood carving, master Lin gained a lot of practical experiences, therefore, decided to continue learning sculpturing. However, at the time, master Lin was too skinny, so his teacher said his figure was unfit for sculpting. His teacher suggested that master Lin pursue a career in lacquer thread sculpting or anjin painting, and further develop his skills. Thus, Jia-Yi Lin began a decades long career as a lacquer thread sculpture master.
Other than the interviews the group recorded, both of the lacquer thread sculpture masters had several interviews and photoshoots in the past. Through a thorough selection process, the group listed out a few news and videos that strongly demonstrates the process of the two masters’ lacquer thread sculpture creation.
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