How 500 Brushstrokes Become One

Wu Jian’an is among the most influential contemporary Chinese artists of recent decades. A professor at the School of Experimental Art at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing, he has also represented China at the Venice Biennale. Renowned for his innovative work, Wu seamlessly bridges ancient traditions and contemporary practice through painting, sculpture, paper art, sound and performance. 

“In 2024, we began the 500 Brushstrokes journey across Peru,” Wu explains. “Over three weeks, we travelled from bustling cities to remote rainforests, from towering mountains to tranquil lakes. Along the way, we held 13 workshops, collected brushstrokes from 437 participants, and conducted 19 interviews.” Hosted by Belmond at its hotels across Peru in Machu Picchu, Lima and the Sacred Valley, the project invited people from all walks of life to contribute a single spontaneous brushstroke on handmade calligraphy paper using traditional Chinese ink and brushes. Each mark became an abstract self-portrait – intimate, immediate and deeply human.

As custodians of some of the world’s most illustrious destinations, Belmond continues to create new cultural legacies through art and visual storytelling. In that spirit, we proudly supported Wu Jian’an’s journey across Peru, hosting him and his team at several Belmond properties across the breathtaking country. 

Traveling aboard the Andean Explorer, Wu visited Uros Island and Taquile Island. From Monasterio in Cusco, he reached Accha Alta and the School of Fine Arts of Cusco. From Sanctuary Lodge near Machu Picchu, his team traveled to Quillabamba and Vilcabamba. At Rio Sagrado in the Sacred Valley, visits included Chinchero, Ollantaytambo and Arin. The journey concluded in Lima, where workshops were held in San Isidro, at the Lima Art Museum (MALI) and in Carabayllo, hosted by Miraflores Park. 

“Later, in my studio in Beijing, I delicately cut out each collected stroke and patiently began assembling the piece we now present,” Wu recalls. As he worked, memories of profound human encounters resurfaced: “I locked eyes with a wild white horse that stared at me without blinking; I shed tears before the sacred Yuraq Rumi stone; I became the godfather of a baby girl on Lake Titicaca.” These moments returned, he says, “like warm hands guiding me forward.” 

Rooted in the millennia-old tradition of Chinese calligraphy, 500 Brushstrokes in Peru transforms individual gestures into a single, interconnected artwork – one that speaks to unity, cultural exchange and collective strength. The project created space for people of different cultures, ethnicities and socio-economic backgrounds to participate in a shared creative act, transcending borders and differences. Each brushstroke becomes both a personal mark and a symbol of shared humanity.