The Chinese character “香” is a combination of the characters “黍” and “甘”, originally referring to the fragrant aroma of mature grains and crops. Later on, it became a general term for any pleasant smell. Because of this pleasant scent, “香” is also used to refer to substances that emit fragrance, which are often derived from plants, animals, minerals, or artificially synthesized.
One of the primary uses of fragrances is burning incense in religious ceremonies, usually for worship. In many regions, particularly in the Chinese cultural sphere, it is believed that deities or spirits can absorb the fragrance. When incense is burned, the smoke rises and gives people a sense of communicating with the heavens. Believers use this to pray and seek the attention of the gods. This behavior is common in Buddhist and Taoist temples, as well as in some ceremonies of the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Catholic Church, the Anglican Church, and the Lutheran Church in Germany, among others.
The fragrances used by Eastern people are typically made into specific shapes using spices and binders. In Catholic Mass, a scoop of frankincense is sprinkled onto burning charcoal in a censer, and the censer is then swung in front of the altar to release the fragrant smoke.
OuyangWendong, who grew up in Chongqing and Hangzhou, China, and lived in Belgium and Italy for many years, is no stranger to the fragrant atmosphere of burning incense. However, in recent years, he has developed a particular interest in fragrances, which seems to be closer to the spirit described by the Song Dynasty poet Li Lin: “Wei Yingwu swept the floor and burned incense, and the Yan chamber congealed and cleared; Huang Luzhi hid behind several sticks of incense, and the Lingtai was empty and tranquil.”
Before the age of thirty, Ouyang Wendong had undergone long-term systematic learning in art academies in China and Europe and was a proficient visual artist. However, in recent years, he has stepped away from painting, sculpture, and installations and has joyfully immersed himself in the world of “fragrance.” The degree of harmony between his spiritual needs and the fragrances has become apparent.
Fragrance is all about the sense of smell, and making incense involves working with this sense. Ouyang Wendong collects fragrant materials from all over the world and classifies them by hand, chopping, grinding, and blending them in a slow and steady manner, day after day. As making incense has become an important part of his life, the sensations and meditations he experiences while making incense have fed back into his daily life, making it more fulfilling and complete. In a quiet and simple courtyard outside the Fifth Ring Road in Beijing, his work and life flow naturally, with a relaxed and carefree attitude.
The miraculous existence of all things in nature reflects the glory of the Creator, and those who have a heart for exploration can discover its secrets. The energy of life can only be released through continuous revelation, often relying on unexpected and indescribable experiences. The fragrance of each type of material is unique, and in over a decade of making incense, Ouyang Wendong has encountered various opportunities and preconceptions about the fragrant materials, constantly opening up his senses and educating his sense of smell, as well as expanding his consciousness. Those moments of sudden and unrepeatable inspiration are moments of spiritual enlightenment.
The eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind are all sensory organs that can move the heart and soul. As an artist, Ouyang Wendong is willing to share his feelings and insights during the process of making incense. His accumulation of various talents and cultivation over the years has allowed him to seek the appropriate intersection of vision, touch, and smell.
After the powdered fragrant materials are combined with binders, they become a sculpting clay that can be easily molded into any shape. When compressed into small balls, they can retain the natural color of the fragrant materials or even be colored on the surface, becoming like pixels that can be combined in any way. When pressed onto paper, they leave an impression that retains the shape of the ball and the lasting fragrance.
As Ouyang Wendong continues to make incense, his understanding of the process deepens. For him, fragrant materials are no longer just physical substances; they are catalysts that induce people to continuously unlock their spiritual potential. During this process, he moves away from a narrow and superficial “materialistic” perspective and gains a deeper understanding of life and existence. “When I am manipulating these materials that represent one flower and one world, it is precisely when I feel the redemption of my small and insignificant existence, and the arrogance and rules that govern it.”
Therefore, the process of creating works is not about rushing through and pursuing maximum efficiency, but about slowing down and focusing on spiritual practice, nurturing insights, enhancing cognition, and expanding the mind. Making each incense ball, one by one, is not tedious but rather a source of joy, and Ouyang Wendong becomes more and more confident and calm in facing the indescribable thoughts and ideas that arise, like the wisps of blue smoke that rise when burning incense.
The intersection of visual, tactile, and olfactory senses, combined with the injection of spiritual consciousness and the layering of spiritual practice methods, has allowed Ouyang Wendong’s fragrant works to take on multiple threads and forms. When molding the fragrant clay, he sculpts a “Tower”. When using fragrant balls as the basic pixels to create images, he creates “Looking Up at the Stars”, which simulates the Buddha’s topknot. When a large number of fragrant balls are densely arranged on a two-dimensional plane, they become “Dust”.
When arranging and pasting the fragrant balls, each one is intentionally counted, making the process and the result equally important in “Counting Fragrant Balls”. After the fragrant balls are pressed onto paper, the paper retains the fragrance while the balls are removed, resulting in a painting effect. When the fragrant balls and paper are embedded on a wooden box with a sealed wax base, it creates a ceremonial sense of a “work of art”. When inspiration flows, Ouyang Wendong sometimes casually places pieces of fragrant paper on various objects, allowing the visual aspect to recede and the fragrance to come to the fore, creating a long-lasting “fragrant aura” that escapes from the art museum space and enters into everyday life.
Most of these works feature simple visual forms, with fragrances that induce viewers to approach them at the appropriate distance, allowing them to deeply sense and open their mind and body in a tension between smelling and looking.
Art is the art of sensation, and artists explore and seek ways to move the soul. Fragrant materials such as anise, frankincense, agarwood, sandalwood, pine and cypress, clove, osmanthus, rose, dragon’s blood, turmeric, and patchouli oil, all have natural fragrances that are long-lasting. Ouyang Wendong selects and blends these materials, combines them with materials such as beeswax, wood, and rice paper, and molds them into paintings or reliefs.
However, he is not a professional artist with a distinct style. He follows his heart and his inspiration, and when the above materials and methods are not enough to fully express his insights, he also skillfully uses hammers and chisels to forge metal into various shapes of incense burners and other objects. Because his transition from sculpture to incense making is a continuation of his understanding and expression, both of which explore the relationship between life and space, time. His “Incense Burner on the Go” uses metal to express the interest in incense making, creating a sense of timelessness as he sniffs the fragrance and lets his mind wander. Time seems to roll up and unfold, with a day feeling like a thousand years, and a thousand years feeling like a day.
André Bazin, in his essay “What Is Cinema?”, posits that all human image-making activities are based on a latent psychological motivation: the desire to transform the fleeting “here and now” into something eternal. The invention of cinema or photography is a necessary result of this internal motivation: “it is to sprinkle time with spices, to save it from its own decay”.
By blending and shaping fragrant materials and counting fragrant balls, Ouyang Wendong visually imbues time with fragrance, preventing it from being overly depleted by mundane worldly affairs. Life comes from dust and returns to dust; the decay of the physical body is irreversible, but the natural fragrance of fragrant material can endure. How can consciousness and soul be preserved from decay? Ouyang Wendong’s olfactory practice over the past decade has touched on this profound question from time to time.