This catalogue accompanies the exhibition Ding Yi: The Winding Path, documenting the artist's spiritual “winding ascent”—inspired by the Dongba culture of the Naxi people in Yunnan—expressed through his iconic “Appearance of Crosses” visual language. Ding Yi (b. 1962) is a leading figure in Chinese abstract art, renowned for his decades-long “Appearance of Crosses” series.
The publication’s visual system is built around the recurring zigzag motif found throughout the artworks. This “之”-shaped form represents not only the silhouette of mountain peaks and the folds of the Hengduan Range, but also mirrors the curves of a winding mountain road and the turning course of the Jinsha River—the very cradle of Naxi Dongba culture. The motif further resembles the Dongba pictograph for “road,” reflecting both the rugged migration routes of Naxi ancestors described in Dongba scriptures and the perilous soul’s journey depicted in the sacred scroll The Road to Heaven. In this way, the visual symbol enters into profound dialogue with the artist’s own spiritual search.
Structurally, the book is bound in three layered, mountain-like sections. Notably, the long scroll The Road to Heaven is presented in a zigzag-folded accordion format, extending vertically over eight meters when fully unfolded—a design consciously informed by the vertical cosmology intrinsic to Dongba culture. Throughout the catalogue, the text layout echoes the undulating mountain lines and the winding “之”-shaped trajectory, striving to integrate content and form into a cohesive visual and conceptual expression that embodies the artist’s path.