Cang Xin holds the profound belief that all things have spirit, and approaches his work as a means to promote harmonious communication with nature.
Cang Xin was born in 1967 in Baotou, Inner Mongolia. He is a performance and conceptual artist. He entered the Tianjin Academy of Music in 1986 but pursued visual arts in 1991. In 1993, he moved to Beijing’s “East Village”, where he began a series of performances.
At the Beijing “East Village,” Cang joined a group of artists that included Rong Rong, Zhang Huan, Ma Liuming and others who were famous for their experimental performance art. One of their notable group performances, titled "To Add One Meter to an Anonymous Mountain" (1995), has since become an iconic representation of Chinese contemporary art. In his artistic journey, Cang assumes the role of a "Shaman," immersing himself in the world and its diverse offerings through his physical senses. For him, art is not just a creative pursuit but an integral part of his existence. His Mongolian heritage and beliefs play into his art as a modern-day shaman and mystic.