Art Battle in Bristol. I don’t need planning permission to build castles in the sky.

5 min readFeb 14, 2019

This is the picture of me before I had my turn at the Art Battle. I used CounterReality as my name for the Art Battle and I think I was the only one who decorated the name tag. I always try to make everything around me more fun and beautiful.

“You don’t need planning permission to build castles in the sky.” I saw Banksy’s graffiti on a wall in Bristol and recognized it as a heart-to-heart note from an artist to artists.

When I first started CounterReality, people doubted me, saying that I was too idealistic and innocent and that the world is not as simple as I think it is. I am simple, but I’m not simplistic. I always see the world as beautiful and fun. That’s my way of seeing. I approach reality with an innocent eye and aspire to understand how things really work. I have never given up my view because I know that nobody really knows what the world is like. Everyone is free to express true feelings and thoughts. I don’t need planning permission to build castles in the sky. Herbert Marcuse said: “Art cannot change the world, but it can contribute to changing the consciousness and drives of the men and women who could change the world.”

Artists’ views often time were ignored by mainstream decision-making and policy-making. Western civilization builds on power and rationality. In the UK, laws are higher than everything. Without laws, the parliament and prime minister don’t understand what to do. People can appreciate beautiful art pieces, yet artists’ views were often judged as “impractical” or “irrational.” In history, artists rarely considered it important to achieve political roles. Even sometimes it happened, that was because of their fame rather than their artistic views. People who are very good at talking become leaders, not those who are virtuous, intellectual and interesting.

People expect you to be in their system or box — they have this fear towards randomness. My college experience was a nightmare because of this. My teachers never liked me because I never followed their instructions. I stuck to my creative process which was much more complex and hard to articulate. Although I made outstanding works, nobody understood my process. I had this communication tension with everyone else. I felt my works I weren’t valued. It took me a very long time to recover from that trauma. There were more people appreciating me since I graduated.

After that, I talked a lot about philosophy and I’ve shared my view with a lot of people. Most people didn’t take my words seriously. I was young. I was a female. I was a foreigner. And I was an artist. I was told in the face once: “I appreciate you as an artist. You are creating beautiful things. I won’t judge you from the common perspective but governments cannot let people like you take charge of important decisions.” Still, I have never stopped building my castle. I learn little by little and accumulate virtues and knowledge. Hopefully one day, my castle will be seen by more people and I can influence society.

The world needs more creative thinkers. Creativity can tell as much truth as rationality can. I hate explaining my art. Art is my language to express my thoughts and feelings. When I translate my art into English it loses taste. My art is much greater than my writing. My art tells the Truth. That motivates me to keep writing and practice speaking. I have to stand up for my art and other creative thinkers and outliers. Aristotle said that a good life is a political life.

Art Battle — live painting tournament

Me painting in process. It was a very intense experience. I only had 20 minutes to finish it and I had no idea what would come up!

It was my first time went to Art Battle as a participant. I loved this form and decided to be part of it while I was in the audience in the San Francisco Art Battle last year. In three rounds, twelve artists painted in the middle of the room and we had 20 minutes to finish our paintings in each round. Three hundred people stared at us with eagerness wanting to know what is going to be the outcome. After each round, the audience would vote for their favorite art piece and could auction on the paintings they liked.

I felt really pumped on the stage! I enjoyed being there and witnessed smiling faces around me. People were eager to see our performance. I was a bit nervous. I didn’t plan anything ahead. I don’t usually do much planning ahead in my art because I wanted to embrace myself into randomness. Randomness creates awesomeness. When I started to paint, a picture came in. I saw a little creature coming out from a tree from my mind’s eye. As I drew, the picture became clearer. The creature became a koala. People were staring at my art! I felt excitement in the environment and painted the smiling face and the heart on the branches on the tree.

My friend brought me the white roses and I felt so much love from her. She is also a loving person and she gave me a lot of support!

This guy won the auction of my painting.

Bristol is a tiny, liberal, artistic city. Besides Bansky’s street art, you can see different styles street art everywhere. Most of these artworks are cheerful and candid. The local people I talked to seemed to really enjoy their lives. If you are a creator, Bristol is a place for you to build your castle without permission. It is a place where you can think beyond reality without being judged.