G/F, 20 Aberdeen Street, Central, Hong Kong 852.2544 5004 | art@karinwebergallery.com | www.karinwebergallery.
com
Press Release For Immediate Release
Karin Weber Gallery presents
Zhao Dayong
FABLES IN A GHOST TOWN
Exhibition: 16th May 8th June, 2012 Zhao Dayong will be present at the Opening Reception: Tuesday 15th May 6:30 8:30 pm Karin Weber Gallery is pleased to announce the solo exhibition of Chinese artist Zhao Dayong who is also an acclaimed independent film maker. The large format photos were shot whilst Zhao was filming his three-part documentary epic Ghost Town in the remote mountain town of Zhiziluo in Chinas southwest Yunnan province. Propaganda slogans fade into the shadows of the old city hall, and a figure of Chairman Mao gazes out silently in a town left deserted by The Cultural Revolution. By introducing Hans Christian Andersens mythical mermaid, the artist has created a sense of conflict and absurdity amongst the villagers. What does the distressed gaze of the mermaid convey? Do the local children surrounding the mermaid know that she is a character from childrens stories? Does she exist? Do the people in this ghost town sense too that we are all characters in a fable? It could all be a dream. I view every personal act as an act of experimentation. Art too is fundamentally about experimentation with life. This concept of art and of life is open and non-restrictive. In a sense I can't really know with clarity whether my own stories are fables or manifestations of reality, said Zhao. The photos remind one how memories in China have been obliterated by the imposition of ideology and how stories for the generations that follow will be nothing more than fables, empty imaginings. Artists Talk: China and The Art of Independence Speakers: Zhao Dayong. Co-presenter: David Bandurski (Journalist and editor, China Media Project - University of Hong Kong). Organiser: CEFC (French Centre for Research on Contemporary China) Date: Thursday, 10 May 2012 at 7p.m. Venue: Room Segalen, 25/F, Admiralty Centre, Tower 2, 18 Harcourt Road, Hong Kong 1/3
G/F, 20 Aberdeen Street, Central, Hong Kong 852.2544 5004 | art@karinwebergallery.com | www.karinwebergallery.com
In October 2011, a meeting of top Chinese Communist Party leaders released a policy document outlining "culture system reforms." They spoke of the need to bring about a great rejuvenation of the Chinese people through a flowering of creativity. The goal was also to strengthen China's international standing and "soft power." Despite these policy objectives, leaders sidestepped the issue of creative freedom, and retained the right to dictate and control what constitutes acceptable cultural activity. In this talk, visual artist and filmmaker Zhao Dayong personalizes these larger issues of creativity and the role of arts and culture in China by sharing his own experiences working against the grain and outside the "mainstream" as defined by the Party. About the artist After graduating from Chinas Lu Xun Art Academy in 1992, where he specialized in oil painting, Zhao worked for a number of years as a professional artist and advertising director, first in Beijing and later in Guangzhou. In 1997, he founded Guangzhou Dake, a design company. He was also founding editor of Culture & Morals, a journal for the contemporary arts in China. Zhao began exploring the medium of digital video in 2002. His first documentary film, Street Life, premiered at Austrias Viennale in October 2006. Zhaos second documentary film, Ghost Town, a collage of stories that take place in the former government seat of Zhiziluo in remote northwestern Yunnan province, premiered at the New York Film Festival in 2009. His first fiction feature, The High Life, premiered at the Hong Kong International Film Festival in 2010, winning both the FIPRESCI Award and the Silver Digital Award. The High Life made its European premiere in the main competition at the Mannheim-Heidelberg International Film Festival in November 2010, where it won both the Werner Fassbinder Prize and the FIPRESCI Jury Prize. About the gallery The gallery was founded in 1995 by German-born Karin Weber, who worked for more than 15 years in the antiques and art business in London. The gallery curates and introduces the work of emerging and established Asian and Western artists. 'It is very important to us to maintain our reputation as an energetic, outgoing and accessible art gallery, to continue to inspire, interest and provide enjoyment and cultural enrichment to our collectors and the general public alike,' says Karin. For any enquiries, please contact Kenneth Young at (852) 2544 5004 or art@karinwebergallery.com
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G/F, 20 Aberdeen Street, Central, Hong Kong 852.2544 5004 | art@karinwebergallery.com | www.karinwebergallery.com
Images
Fables No.14, Zhao Dayong, digital print on Hahnemuhle photo rag 308, 80cm x 80cm, 2012
Fables No.9, Zhao Dayong, digital print on Hahnemuhle photo rag 308, 120cm x 60cm, 2012
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G/F, 20 Aberdeen Street, Central, Hong Kong 852.2544 5004 | art@karinwebergallery.com | www.karinwebergallery.com
Fables No.11, Zhao Dayong, digital print on Hahnemuhle photo rag 308, 80cm x 80cm, 2012
