Written by: Wang Sufen
Posted on: May 22, 2018 | 
| 中文
Na Dinghao and one of his models
The gray-bearded drum player closes his eyes, plays his drum and sings a song. Hot naans (flatbread) fresh out of the oven have been hung up as an advertisement. Another old man carrying a walking stick and wearing an embroidered hat, lowers his head and ponders. This vivid scene is presented as a dough sculpture. The work isn’t big in size, with these persons just one to twenty centimeters tall, but their eyes, expressions and gestures are all intricately detailed. Thus, vivid images of life in Xinjiang have been presented.
The artist, Na Dinghao, was born and brought up in Urumqi, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. He inherited the dough modeling skill from his mother, and has a wonderful perception of Xinjiang elements from his experiences as a child in the Erdaoqiao Market. As an artist, he tells the stories of Xinjiang through dough modeling and says, “In the past, dough modeling artists used to carry small boxes and swirled about the streets to knead dough figurines. Now, I am not just thinking of passing on this art to the next generation. Instead, I want to achieve a higher level of artistic creation in it.”
His mother, Ma Yingjie, who is from Qingdao, had a family which ran a dessert shop in her childhood hometown. During the festivals, she liked to make small floury flowers but also goldfish, toads, ladies, and copper locks. In the 1960s, when his mother started to work in Xinjiang, she still made a few small pieces in her free time. He was so obsessed with her work that he would watch what his mother was doing and learned to knead the dough.
Now, though his mother is seventy years old, she is still his best mentor. In his studio, a dough rose made by his mother has been encased. It has thin petals like cicada and is colorful and true to life. He says, “My mother’s works are all simple and traditional, but bold in colors. With a strong country style, they present a sense of uncarved beauty. She occasionally visits my studio, where she praises my works and sometimes gives advice. She even uses her hands to makes some changes in the works.”
“I love Xinjiang elements because I was born and have been living here since I was a child. These elements are in my heart and in my life, and they make me feel comfortable,” Na said. When he was a child, he would visit his uncles' house on Heping South Road in Urumqi, where he often spent the whole day in Erdaoqiao Bazaar, and became impressed by the mannerisms of traders. Therefore, these scenes have naturally become a part of his dough modeling works.
In 2011, in a Uyghur-style banquet hall in Urumqi, he saw the replica of Hazi·Amat’s oil painting, "Muqam." He was immediately caught by the infatuated expressions of the players in the painting and decided to “reproduce” these characters in his dough modeling. In half a year, he recreated them on the basis of the original work. When the work was presented, he received many appraises and won many awards.
“Mr. Na, I have found the orientation of my life,” a student excitedly told Na Dinghao after learning about dough modeling, and Na felt relieved that dough art has finally taken root in Xinjiang. Niyazi Yusuf, who has no artistic foundations, makes quick progress, and now his dough works are vivid and full of vitality. Of course there is much room for improvement in terms of performance techniques.
Na Dinghao teaches nearly 20 students. Often, with three of his students, he will go into the local communities, schools and villages to teach the techniques of dough figurines. With his recommendation, Niyazi·Yusuf, has been training children in the Cultural Center of Urumqi City.
In Urumqi, Na Dinghao has several studios in 7 Fang Art Street, Xingfu Road, and Railway Bureau Area. Some jade shop owners in other provinces tend to display his works when selling Xinjiang jade. In 2014, Na Dinghao became the inheritor of Xinjiang dough modeling art. In 2016, two of his works, “Happy Time” and “Happily Singing in Mt. Tianshan,” were selected as “Xinjiang gifts.” Subsequently, he developed and designed theme products named “Xinjiang Ancient Bazaar,” including bookmarks and postcards, which won the silver award in the First Competition for Xinjiang Souvenir Creative Design.
All photographs by Wang Sufen.
Translated by Duan Taotao
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