Nature's bounty adds shine to artwork

French artist finds valuable lacquer, inspiration deep in mountains for his creations

The Qinling-Daba mountain areas of Southwest China nurture abundant lacquer trees.

Located deep in the Daba Mountains, Chengkou county in Chongqing produces prized Damu lacquer that possesses high-gloss and strong, adhesive qualities.

Fascinated by lacquer art, French artist Vincent Cazeneuve arrived in China 15 years ago with the aim of finding suitable species of lacquer trees for his artwork. He visited many places in China and finally settled down in Chengkou.

Collecting lacquer sap from trees is carried out from March to October every year, with the temperature and their water content main factors to consider.

Cazeneuve must be careful with his work, as coming into contact with raw lacquer may cause allergies.

It can take some time for the tree sap to be completely drained. Dense forest can also block out natural light and sap collection may have to be carried out with headlamps. Cazeneuve is patient, harvesting the lacquer sap bit by bit.

Minerals need to be added to prepare colored lacquer, with cinnabar for red, realgar for yellow and titanium dioxide for white. After stirring, grinding and filtering, the colors can be stored for later use.

Cazeneuve has four apprentices at his studio. He taught them the basics of lacquer art, just as how his teacher Yang Tianlun had shared his experience and expertise generously.

High-quality Damu lacquer allows Cazeneuve's works to be more expressive. His creations also give Chengkou lacquer a new vitality.

The artist plans to continue in-depth research on the art and share the beauty of China's lacquer with more people through his creations.

Xinhua