Ephemeral and Eternal
Some things cannot be spoken.
Some things should not be.
Yet within silence, something persists.
Poems, No.04
Mixed media on wood panel
30x20cm, 2024
Boundaries are not broken, but traced.
Meaning is not declared, but inscribed into form.
A line, a structure, a rhythm—
where absence is as present as what remains.
Poems, No.14
Mixed media on wood panel
20x40cm, 2025
No need to escape, only to redefine.
If the frame is fixed,
then freedom must be found within it.
Poems, No.13
Mixed media on wood panel
20x30cm, 2024
Some things should not be.
Yet within silence, something persists.
Poems, No.04
Mixed media on wood panel
30x20cm, 2024
Boundaries are not broken, but traced.
Meaning is not declared, but inscribed into form.
A line, a structure, a rhythm—
where absence is as present as what remains.
Poems, No.14
Mixed media on wood panel
20x40cm, 2025
No need to escape, only to redefine.
If the frame is fixed,
then freedom must be found within it.
Poems, No.13
Mixed media on wood panel
20x30cm, 2024
Interviewing
Huihe Li
EST8: Your Poems series feels like an artistic plog—traces suspended in time. Yet, these traces seem to hold something beyond the fleeting moment.
Huihe Li: It extends from my previous works, yet the thoughts behind it have shifted. Since October 2024, my creative process has entered a different phase. My focus has turned toward life and truth—something shaped by personal experience, the formation of faith, and an evolving perception of existence.
Poems, No.05
Mixed media on wood panel
20x30cm, 2024
Mixed media on wood panel
20x30cm, 2024
EST8: How has this shift influenced your artistic approach?
Huihe Li: Profoundly. I want to convey my worldview through metaphor, so my work is no longer just an image but an open process—one that allows for interaction and reinterpretation. The five-line musical staff that appears in my paintings, for example, is not just about rhythm or structure; it reflects an inner order. These symbols transform the composition from a fixed statement into an open dialogue.
EST8: What is the “truth” you are searching for?
Huihe Li: It is not a fixed answer, but a continuous exploration of time, memory, and existence. I want to use art to capture certain things, to make them perceptible and preserved—to pay tribute to the eternity of life.
Poems, No.01
Mixed media on wood panel
20x30cm, 2024
Mixed media on wood panel
20x30cm, 2024
EST8: Do you believe life is eternal?
Huihe Li: At least for now, I lean toward believing it is. There are things that haven’t happened yet, but they seem to already exist in some form, embedded in time’s trajectory. We are small, but within the vast structure of time and space, things do not appear without reason. My work is a way of engaging with that question.
EST8: Could the unknown future be considered eternal simply because it remains uncertain?
Huihe Li: If something leaves an imprint, it crosses the threshold of time. That is why I continue painting—to inscribe something into time, ensuring it can be revisited.
Poems, No.11
Mixed media on wood panel
30x20cm, 2024
Mixed media on wood panel
30x20cm, 2024
EST8: When working on Book Narratives, how did you perceive the world?
Huihe Li: At that time, I was expressing things purely from a personal perspective. The work itself felt like a book that couldn’t be read—a record stripped of function, left only with presence. I wanted to remove practical meaning from objects, allowing the image to exist as a vessel for thought. I was also experimenting with reinterpreting classical texts, giving them a new space to exist.
Book Narratives, No.09
Mixed media on canvas
40x30cm, 2024
Book Narratives, No.08
Mixed media on canvas
30x30cm, 2024
Book Narratives, No.10
Mixed media on canvas
40x30cm, 2024
EST8: In China, belief-related themes tend to remain implicit. How do you navigate this cultural context?
Huihe Li: Many things cannot be spoken about directly; they require subtlety, a certain level of distance. For artists, this is both a limitation and a possibility. Navigating these constraints necessitates a different kind of creativity—an expression that exists within the unspoken, between the seen and the concealed.
EST8: How does this environment shape your work?
Huihe Li: In art education, we cannot touch on politics, religion, or sexuality. These subjects are entirely off-limits. But that doesn’t mean creation is impossible—it simply means the language has to shift, become more nuanced. This is not about compromise but about navigating the boundary in a way that allows the work to exist. I’ve always been relatively quiet, and I don’t cater to the market, so I have yet to encounter significant restrictions.
Poems, No.03
Mixed media on wood panel
30x20cm, 2024
EST8: Under these circumstances, where do you see the path forward for artistic creation?
Huihe Li: Direct expression may not always be possible, but it is within these limitations that unexpected tensions arise—between myself and the work, between the work and its audience, between the audience and me. These collisions are what make the process interesting.They hold more weight than linear narratives. Uncertainty creates space for thought. A work is never complete; each viewer adds another layer to its meaning.
Poems, No.12
Mixed media on wood panel
30x20cm, 2024
EST8: Will you continue working within this series?
Huihe Li: Yes, I will continue. Each painting exists independently, carrying its own story. They don’t need to be assembled into a singular narrative—they exist as fragments. In the future, I may adjust scale, expand the compositions, but they will retain their individuality.
EST8: We respect and admire artists who remain committed to their work. In today’s climate, this requires both persistence and restraint.
Poems, No.07
Mixed media on wood panel
30x20cm, 2024
Huihe Li: Yes, the path of art is never easy. When external conditions cannot be changed, the question becomes: how does one carve out a space within them? That is something every artist must confront.
EST8: Civilization ceases the moment we stop questioning the conditions that shape us.
Book Narratives, No.09
Mixed media on canvas
40x30cm, 2024
Book Narratives, No.08
Mixed media on canvas
30x30cm, 2024
Book Narratives, No.10
Mixed media on canvas
40x30cm, 2024
EST8: In China, belief-related themes tend to remain implicit. How do you navigate this cultural context?
Huihe Li: Many things cannot be spoken about directly; they require subtlety, a certain level of distance. For artists, this is both a limitation and a possibility. Navigating these constraints necessitates a different kind of creativity—an expression that exists within the unspoken, between the seen and the concealed.
EST8: How does this environment shape your work?
Huihe Li: In art education, we cannot touch on politics, religion, or sexuality. These subjects are entirely off-limits. But that doesn’t mean creation is impossible—it simply means the language has to shift, become more nuanced. This is not about compromise but about navigating the boundary in a way that allows the work to exist. I’ve always been relatively quiet, and I don’t cater to the market, so I have yet to encounter significant restrictions.
Poems, No.03
Mixed media on wood panel
30x20cm, 2024
EST8: Under these circumstances, where do you see the path forward for artistic creation?
Huihe Li: Direct expression may not always be possible, but it is within these limitations that unexpected tensions arise—between myself and the work, between the work and its audience, between the audience and me. These collisions are what make the process interesting.They hold more weight than linear narratives. Uncertainty creates space for thought. A work is never complete; each viewer adds another layer to its meaning.
Poems, No.12
Mixed media on wood panel
30x20cm, 2024
EST8: Will you continue working within this series?
Huihe Li: Yes, I will continue. Each painting exists independently, carrying its own story. They don’t need to be assembled into a singular narrative—they exist as fragments. In the future, I may adjust scale, expand the compositions, but they will retain their individuality.
EST8: We respect and admire artists who remain committed to their work. In today’s climate, this requires both persistence and restraint.
Poems, No.07
Mixed media on wood panel
30x20cm, 2024
Huihe Li: Yes, the path of art is never easy. When external conditions cannot be changed, the question becomes: how does one carve out a space within them? That is something every artist must confront.
EST8: Civilization ceases the moment we stop questioning the conditions that shape us.
CREDITS
Back Drop Photo 1
Book Narratives, No.09
Mixed media on canvas
40x30cm, 2024
Book Narratives, No.09
Mixed media on canvas
40x30cm, 2024
Back Drop Photo 2
Poems, No.12
Mixed media on wood panel
30x20cm, 2024
Poems, No.12
Mixed media on wood panel
30x20cm, 2024
HUIHE LI
Born in 1999 in Hunan Provence, Master’s degree from Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts in 2023, currently lives and works in Guangzhou.
CONTENT CREATIVE: EST8 MAG