“I know I am a failure according to the standards of mainstream society. But I don’t care. I am enjoying the bittersweet process of chasing my dream.”

— Nut Brother, who has drawn lots of media attention for organizing various cultural and artistic activities

Anne Zhang

zhangy49@gmail.com

A GROUP of young people gather regularly in the OCT-LOFT in Shenzhen’s Nanshan District to pursue their artistic dreams. One of them, Nut Brother, has drawn lots of media attention for organizing various cultural and art activities.

Nut Brother is surnamed Wang, but he doesn’t want to disclose his given name because he fears that this may affect his job prospects in the future. He prefers to be called “Nut Brother” or “Nut.”

Creative activities

In recent years, Nut Brother has organized dozens of creative activities, including 99 People Library, No. 66 Power Plant, A Plan to Destroy Luxuries, and Bookstore to Be Closed in 30 Days.

“I am doing what I enjoy,” Nut Brother told Shenzhen Daily. “I hope I can inspire social change through my art.”

Nut Brother first drew media attention when he initiated a nationwide activity three years ago called 99 People Library. The activity recruited 99 experienced Internet readers to collect 100 books covering the areas of humanities and social sciences to create a small library.

The activity was launched on douban.com, a popular Chinese Web site for culture and art communication, and attracted thousands of participants and followers from major Chinese cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing and Shenzhen. Besides reading, the 99 People Library also holds lectures, art exhibitions and poetry recitals on a regular basis.

“I wanted to create an in-depth reading space and a platform for cultural and artistic exchange,” Nut Brother told Chinese-language media.

Nut Brother again drew media attention when he launched Bookstore To Be Closed in 30 Days last October. It’s an art installation in OCT that intended to raise the public attention to the financial struggles of many brick and mortar bookstores in China.

He invited 30 people to be managers of the bookstore. Each of them operated the bookstore for one day and raised a question on their shifts to the visitors for discussion. Questions included how non-profit organizations could make profits, how to make a cat read and understand a book, etc. A countdown plate was hung at the entrance of the bookstore to remind visitors of its closure.

“It is interesting and meaningful, isn’t it?” Nut Brother said. “Visitors expressed support to bookstores and exchanged ideas on many issues.”

A unique dreamer

Born in 1981 in a small village in Hubei Province, Nut Brother first showed his literary talent in high school. His first novel was published in a school publication making him a campus celebrity. He subsequently became the editor in chief of the student literature society. While studying Chinese at Hubei University, Nut Brother began to write poems. His works were published in more than a dozen newspapers and some won national awards.

However, this early success did not last. Nut Brother encountered difficulties in searching for a magazine or newspaper editor position after he graduated from college. He took various jobs including porter, corporate clerk and advertisement designer in Beijing, Xiamen, Wuhan and other cities.

Nut Brother came to Shenzhen to look for a job in 2007, but he only stayed in the city for a few months before leaving for Beijing.

“I felt like an outsider in Shenzhen and I had lost all my confidence, so I left,” he said.

He came back to Shenzhen in 2009 and fell in love with the city. Nut Brother said there are a lot of young people in both Shenzhen and Beijing, but Shenzhen is more welcoming to outsiders.

“Shenzhen is a city of migrants. So paradoxically, it’s easier to gain a sense of belonging here,” he said.

During his stay in Shenzhen, Nut Brother has hopped from job to job, but says that none of the jobs were conducive to his artistic pursuits.

“I want to maintain my artistic integrity, but that is not really possible if I am working for others or for profit,” he said.

Unlike many ordinary people who work for money, housing, or their families, Nut Brother works purely out of passion. Therefore, he has very little material wealth.

“I don’t care much about material possessions. Several steamed buns and a glass of water are my idea of a good meal,” he said.

Nut Brother is passionate about art. If an interesting artistic idea comes to his mind, he can stay up all night thinking about how to execute it.

“That’s why I call myself ‘Nut Brother,’” he said, adding that the fruit “nut” also means “crazy” in English. “Many people see me as a crazy guy,” he said.

In his home village, Nut Brother is held up by parents as an example of what children should not aspire toward, while one of his friends from his hometown, who is now a judge at a provincial-level court, is held up as a role model.

“I know I am a failure according to the standards of mainstream society,” Nut Brother said. “But I don’t care. I am enjoying the bittersweet process of chasing my dream.”

Mexico’s masked knight Marcos is Nut Brother’s spiritual idol. The Subcomandante Marcos is a dreamer. But unlike Marcos, Nut Brother is not powerful, and only has his passion to get him through the day.