The Square (1995-1996)
From 1995-1996, Zhu Wei produced “oceanic” paintings to relate to Tiananmen Square. Like the ocean, Tiananmen is wide and magnificent. The sea of historical events happening there are uncountable, uproarious and full of passion. Everybody is soaked in these events that are unavoidable and one cannot but live with them. In the series, a painting depicts a soldier sinking in deep thoughts among the waves, which is almost like the artist’s autobiographical reflection. Meanwhile, the picture is also mixed with historical images of Stalin and Marx. Instead of using poetry, Zhu takes Cui Jian’s lyrics as the text to accompany his work:
“Heaps of problems lay before me,
Let’s resolve you first.
You can say there isn’t a bigger problem.
The idea just flashed across my mind,
To resolve you first.
Heaps of problems lay before me,
But now there is only me.
I pretend to be serious with you,
But you see through me.
You extend your arms with seeming indifference,
Accepting all my sham and trouble.”
Here, Zhu takes what he thinks to be disconnected from contemporary reality: classical painting technique combined with pop culture--something that is tightly tied to contemporary society. As Cui’s bold lyrics-- written in the bamboo slip style of writing-- fill the picture with a symbolic military coloured (green and blue) background, the work can thus be seen as another one of Zhu’s personal mirror images.

《广场》（1995-1996年）

1995年到1996年间，朱伟创作了关于天安门广场的海洋式绘画。就像海洋一样，天安门也是广阔而壮丽的。在这里发生过的历史事件也像海洋一样不可计量、喧嚣而富有激情。它们渗透到每个人的生命里，你无法逃避。能做到的仅仅是在里面尽力生存下来。系列中有一幅画的是在海洋浪花里深思的一名普通军人，既是朱伟自传性的写照，也融合了具有历史含义的斯大林和马克思的形象。但朱伟不是用诗，而是用著名的摇滚乐领袖崔健的歌词作为文本，“眼前的问题很多，无法解决；可总是没什么机会，是更大的问题；明天的问题很多，可现在只有一个；我装作和你谈正经的，可被你看破；你好象无谓的笑着，还伸出了手。”在这里，朱伟将他认为已经与现实社会脱离关系的中国传统绘画方式和与现实社会联系紧密的流行文化结合起来。崔健大胆的歌词被以竹简式的书写方式填写于画面中，用军人的形象和蓝绿色调的背景相结合，这幅画可以看作是朱伟另一种自我形象的反映。同在这一年创作的《盒子》系列在朱伟大量的作品中，可以看作是一个特例。作品中那些夸张的形式，漫画幽默的手法、漠然的表情、不协调的形状、怪诞的外表都不是矫揉造作的，因为你随便转悠一下你生活的世界，极有可能目睹与其类似的场景，这是朱伟的绘画作品与现实连接的脐带。