The Atherton Twins
精氣神 “Essence, breath, spirit”
Andrew and Kevin Atherton are identical twins and an aerial straps duo. They have performed with Cirque du Soleil.
Fei interviewed them for Feisworld.
Two brothers, one silk, painted almost without color except three gold characters.
Xiang Li on the title
精氣神 — essence, breath and spirit: in Chinese medicine the three treasures, the things a body is made of. It is what you would name a painting of two acrobats if you had spent your life in Chinese painting.
What is in this painting
Xiang Li builds a portrait out of creatures. Each one is a claim about the person sitting among them.
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1 The title, in gold
The only color in the painting: essence, breath, spirit — the three treasures of Chinese medicine.
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2 Two faces, one silhouette
They overlap. Painted from the front, at rest, doing nothing — which is not how anybody photographs an aerial act.
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3 The bared torso
One robe open, one closed. The strength is stated once and then left alone.
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4 The signature and seal
In gold with the title, rather than in black with the picture.
