Chi Peng. Sprinting Forward
By Feng Boyi
Some of the photographers realistically record their own life experiences and living conditions, as is the case with Guan Shi and Wen Ling, who both emphasize the facts of their existence. Some other artists base their photographs on their daily lives, but utilize props and other devices to create and manipulate the environments in which they live. Their "reality" is artificially constructed or supplemented, emphasizing what is hidden through the subjective interpretation of the artists. These include Xu Lei, Ma Han, Yi Deer, Bai Yiluo, Lin Jingjing and Chi Peng.
One to One thus refers to two different photographic methods practiced by artists living in China today. One method is to record daily events in a documentary fashion. The other method exemplifies the belief that "reality" does not reside in a particular moment but can only be revealed through subjective interpretations. Only through presenting the past and memories of the past can "reality" be shown. In order to accomplish this, arrangement and re-construction is necessary. The relationship between the two approaches is illustrated by the "visions" of these artists — photographs are a kind of documentation and metaphor rather than images of specific locations. As the curator, I hope to explore the seemingly antagonistic but in fact symbiotic relationship between these "one to one" interactions, through comparing and contrasting the two methods. In today’s society, visual culture is rapidly changing and expanding. Whether through documentation or a more surreal approach, the artists transform the monotony of their daily lives into visually stimulating images. Using different approaches, they give new appearances and meanings to the physical environment in which we all live. As a result of their matter-of-factness, the images challenge our perceptions of common objects and events in our daily lives.
In the Fairytale series, Yideer puts on makeup and inserts the images of this "transformed" self into natural scenes and monuments of special meaning during the Cultural Revolution. In these photographs, the artist’s body becomes a visual symbol, indicating his memories of the "golden childhood" he experienced in the 1960s and 70s. Such visual language might seem merely humorous or sarcastic, but it is also an extension of Yideer’s memory and reconstructs a specific life in today’s society. The young artist Guan Shi takes a series of snapshots of his life, and uses this visual diary to record his existence. The piece included in this exhibition is a montage he created by rearranging these snapshots. Through the eyes of these two artists, we clearly see the difference between the two periods before and after the Culture Revolution, as well as the changes in society and people’s attitudes in the course of China’s economic development.
Chi Peng presents the dreams of today’s adolescents. The environments seem unfamiliar and lonely but also ambiguous and confusing. Experiencing the pains of growing up in a rapidly changing society, the young people seem fragile and at the same time ready to embrace the challenge. Wen Ling photographs whatever is of interest to him, depending on his instinctive observation and feelings, in order to introduce the audience to his environment and his "primitive" real life. These two artists reveal deeper meanings through the understanding and interpretation of their lives.
Ling Jingjing focuses directly on seemingly unimportant aspects of her life, especially things related to her own body, such as a dictionary and a bowl of hair. These objects are associated with her existence over a period of 365 days, and quietly show the details of daily life that are generally overlooked. After photographing the portraits of hundreds of ordinary Chinese, Bai Yiluo diligently arranges and pastes the portraits into the shapes of traditional Chinese zodiac animals. This results in images that are familiar but also strangely humorous.
Xu Lei’s photographs show the old city walls of Nanjing and other monuments dating to the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), saving in a visual form the disappearing or sometimes already lost history of the city. However, these historical buildings are seen through old-fashioned curtains. It is not always easy to identify them with precision, as if they are associated with feelings of mourning and loss. Planned by Ants is created by Ma Han, who carefully creates montages from images of Beijing’s streets. His photographs of the incessant movement of vehicles and pedestrians at a street corner in Beijing over an extended period of time resemble the frenetic activity inside an ant-hill. What lies behind the emerging "automobile culture" is the primary concern of the artist.
Familiar history, familiar streets, familiar lives and living environments. These are the images we see in this exhibition when people feel comfortable and safe in their surroundings. Each detail and each memory presents understanding of the present and hope for the future. What we are seeing is not only the past and the present, but also the future. Viewers of the exhibition will see not only a slice-of-life presentation of life in China today but may depart with a deeper understanding of the underlying personal and historical forces behind these vivid glimpses of a changing society.
