—— Photography & Sculptures 
 

In 1839, the French Academy of Sciences announced the perfection of the Daguerreotype, the photographic process developed by the artist and chemist Louis Daguerre. From that moment on, photography emerged as both an art form and a means of documenting the development of human civilization.  
 

In the past, when looking at a work of traditional photography I often focused only on the beauty of the moment captured overlooking the fact that after shooting a picture the photographer would complete it as an image in the darkroom. Softening certain features and highlighting others, he or she ultimately would create an image that communicated not only a subject but also a point of view, so that we were able to see through the photographer’s eyes.  
 

This is indeed a kind of mirage or magical illusion. Thanks to the development of modern digital technology, the possibilities of this kind of magic have increased manifold, and are being put to brilliant use by artists on the thriving contemporary arts scene.  
 

The works of photographers Bai Yiluo, Xie Wenyue and Lian Dongya featured in this exhibition combine techniques of traditional and digital photography to create startling images which blur the lines between reality and mirage.  
 

Most Chinese study calligraphy at some point in their education, and many of us have encountered the common criticism that our writing look too ‘creepy-crawly’. Perhaps taking his cue from this, Bai uses a tongue-in-cheek approach to the calligraphic tradition. Collecting thousands of large flies, Bai uses them to create an almost shocking visual pun by arranging them in the forms of traditional Chinese calligraphic script. Photographing these scripts and digitally manipulating the image, the artist creates monumental panels seemingly inscribed with elegant, classical calligraphic texts. In some of these panels, the forms of Bai’s ‘characters’ echo that of one of the most difficult to master of Chinese calligraphic scripts, known as ‘yingtou xiaokai’—literally, ‘fly-head’ script. Bai’s work in the present exhibition, Six Panels (Liu lian),appears to be inform of traditional cursive-style script (cao shu). It is only when the viewer looks more closely with the intention of reading the text that one realizes these ‘characters’ are actually illegible. But perhaps the key to the work lies in this very lack of literal meaning, reflecting the Chinese philosophical concept that ‘being nothing is being everything’ (wu wei ji wu suo bu wei). From this perspective, the meaninglessness of Bai’s ‘fly-head script’ can embrace all meanings, and by extension any meaning the viewer wishes to bring to it. 
 

Xie Wenyue’s work in this exhibition comprises four sets of two photographs each. All depict famous scenic spots in China. In the image on the left, the scenic spot is completely deserted and appears peaceful and secluded, while in the image on the right we see the same location packed with people and no longer quiet and serene. Standing in front of these contrasting photographs, the viewer is led not into the scenes depicted therein but rather to a sense of being completely outside of and alienated from them. As a result, what we see and experience no longer derives from the view from within, but from a perspective beyond and apart from them. Xie’s ability to create this sense of duality is an impressive achievement.  
 

In the photographic works of Lian Dongya, the figures depicted in the landscapes are not real people, but rather figurines meticulously sculpted by the artist from flour dough. Superimposing images of these figurines over a series of beautiful, idealized landscapes, the artist creates a kind of personal view of Shangri-la.. Through the use of sculpted figurines rather than real human figures, Liao underscores the element of idealism in his work, and also hints at the conflict between ideals and reality that we all face constantly.  
 

Like photography, sculpture has developed from a traditional art form which stressed the depiction of reality into a contemporary art from in which reality and illusion co-exist. 
 

Li Hui creates powerful, hybrid sculptures which often feature miniaturized military warships and aircraft carriers in unexpected contexts. In the stainless steel sculpture Guzheng (Chinese zither), for example, the artist fashions a classical Chinese instrument out of an aggressive-looking battleship that has been turned upside-down. Adding to the power of the piece, next to the warship the artist has created a symbolic ‘wave of sound’, symbolizing the force that invisible sound exerts as it beats against the stainless steel plate. This image relates to profound Daoist concepts, such as ‘the colossus has no form, the deafening sound comes silently, the strong is combated by the malleable. Ingeniously integrating Chinese philosophical ideas into his work, Li creates multiple layers of implication: Guzheng is a statement on the conflict between war and peace, a comment on accumulated historical culture, a philosophical question and a minimalist take on antiquity. The powerful waves of sound rising up from the unrelenting steel surface can perhaps be seen as representing the driving force of one’s faith and beliefs. And these are the issues that keep humans on the path of spiritual exploration: issues that are both real and unreal.