Image Commercially Licensed From: Unsplash
Surrealist artist Jie Han is proud to introduce her latest digital art collection inspired by the book of Revelation, the final book in the Bible. Born and raised in China, Jie sees her transition to a Christian a critical step in her art career. The power of belief is what turns her creativity into impressive pieces of art.
Q: Would you please briefly introduce yourself?
A: My name is Jie Han. I was born and grew up in Shanghai. From high school to university, I went to the best art schools in Shanghai. I majored in Art Design of Film and Television at Shanghai Theater Academy, which is the best school in this industry in China. I was a big fan of modern art when I was about 16 years old. After entering university, I became interested in pragmatism, especially the practice of pragmatism in both films and fashion design. I went to Shanghai Polytechnic University and taught art for five years after I graduated from college. And I led my students to win the Gold Awards in the school’s design competition. Right now I’m focusing on the creation of digital art paintings of Revelation in the Bible.
Q: What motivated you to create paintings for the Bible?
A: First of all, I am extremely passionate about the Bible. Personally speaking, I believe that art creations can only be made within one’s belief. Secondly, the book of Revelation has unlimited and unconstrained possibilities in an unbelievable way. It’s amazing to just think about how incredible everything looks with human eyes. Different angles and perspectives will bring different views. The book of Revelation is very poeticized but the objects it contains are abstract. Each artist has their own mindset behind their creations, which is very interesting to me. And I plan on finishing all the paintings by the end of 2023 and having them published on Amazon in the form of a picture album.
Q: What are your understandings of The Book of Revelation?
A: It is the last part in the Bible, in which John the Apostle describes a vision of a heaven full of strange and wonderful creatures that has not only filled the imagination of Christians for generations and art creation. I was a big fan of surrealist art before I became a Christian. Surrealist artists and writers sought to explore the hidden depths of the human mind and to reveal humanity, which is always personal and subjective because it’s revealed through the artist’s own subconscious and imagination. The Book of Revelation, on the other hand, refers to the process by which God reveals himself and his will to mankind through the Bible. The word revelation in the Bible is translated from the Greek word Apokálypsis or Apocalypse, which means to reveal what was previously covered. In the case of biblical revelation, these facts are considered to be objective and absolute, and are revealed by God Himself. That’s what fascinates me.
Q: Why did you choose to come to the U.S to continue your art career?
A: I came here for a more free environment for art creation. After I fully became a Christian, I found myself more used to life in the States. Most of the Chinese citizens appreciate the forms of traditional Chinese art more, while I was such a big fan of modern art like sculpture. Another thing is that there’s a mature system in the United States that allows Christians and people with other religions to establish their own channels or have events in regards to their belief. And I feel like I can resonate more with people like me. We are able to do a lot of things together based on our common belief, including artistic cartoons, music, and radio.
Q: What are some of the other achievements you have in digital art?
A: I am an authorized special effects artist on Douyin, which is known as Chinese TikTok. They had an open position where they encouraged digital artists to create special effects for the users. The one that I designed was used over one billion times by users on Douyin, Chinese TikTok. And I also participated in design competitions featuring the Spring Festival for some domestic brands. The results came out pretty exciting, which later became a giant motivation for me to continue my career in digital art.
Q: Have you ever come across any obstacles?
A: As someone who was born in 1982, I know I have to keep up with the latest trends each time a technological revolution happens. And that means I would need to spend more time and energy on learning these new techniques so that I can always stay up-to-date. I guess that’s also why I could fit in the local Christian community in the U.S pretty well after we did lots of things together. Instead of finding it difficult, I am enjoying most of it.
