I have seen a lot of art exhibitions. In the past, after watching them, my feelings wandered in my heart. The visuals entered my brain but left no written message.
Like breathing, it comes in and goes out silently, as if something has been gained, and as if nothing has been left behind. A state of going from nothing to something, and then to nothingness.
This time I watched Three Shadows' "Unbounded Art Exhibition" and suddenly wanted to write something. The intervention of words may make the void itself less chaotic.
1 Seven Seven
This time I mainly watched "Seven Seven" by Zhuang Zhe. As a member of the family diary and one of the main creators, I am naturally looking forward to the film festival.
The "Qiqi" series is Zhuang Zhe's 7-year experience of photographing his children's growth. He selected 16 photos from tens of thousands of photos, most of which are various close-ups of children.
Most of these photos have actually been seen before, but when they are re-edited together and presented in a large-scale exhibition, you will have a different feeling.
I especially like the inner group. On the background of the thick tree trunk, a thin branch is pulled out in a playful way. Three photos are arranged on the branch: a crib filled with sunshine, and a meaty baby. The little pudgy feet and the back with a round head.
The photos are arranged according to the growth of the children, and there are no specific children’s faces in them, which gives the viewer a good sense of involvement.
In the carefully arranged crib, you can hear the baby whispering in the quiet scene, or the mother gently humming a nursery rhyme. Because it is an empty shot, feelings and associations are freer.
Her fleshy feet stood up slightly. This may be the first time she has learned this stunt. Thinking about every first time in the past, we were so excited and sincerely praised.
Under the neat round head, there are soft curls of hair stuck behind the ears. You seem to be able to smell the unique and pleasant smell of the child.
Every baby has experienced these moments. Looking at the photos, we naturally think of our unconditional love for them when they were young.
However, as they grow up, this unconditional love seems to become even more precious. Our various unconscious comparisons, judgments, and labels often make us forget to simply appreciate our children.
My brother is also seven years old this year. I remember that he was so cute when he was a child, and it is still his child now.
As I write this, I just want to not urge him to move faster when he wakes up tomorrow, but to give him a good hug, touch his head and say, "Mom loves you very much."
This may be the meaning and power of family images.
2 Undercurrent
What impressed me deeply was Yan Jialin's "Undercurrent" series.
First of all, I was attracted by a puzzle. In the puzzle printed with a group photo, three people were missing.
When Omori saw it, he asked me suspiciously why I was missing. At that time, he naturally told him that he guessed that they had left.
Through this step, you can develop a passion for the photos without any text introduction, and your thoughts will be brought into some kind of sentimental curiosity. who are they? Is the photo a place where they once existed?
After seeing the photos in an emotional way, and then reading the text introduction, I feel a sense of understanding after reading it.
It was as if the warmth that the photographer had been healed by taking pictures flowed into my heart through this scene, into the heart of a strange, distant and yet extremely close person.
The three missing people were the photographer’s uncle, grandfather and grandmother. Because she could not see them for the last time, she had strong regrets and self-blame. These unforgettable pains made her instinctively escape.
It wasn’t until she read the view in “The Blue Bird” that “remembrance will allow the dead to still live happily” that she began to face their departure, walk into their past, and recover from their bonds. Precious emotions.
I like the pager that is not hung up in the group photo. The cord stretches in a quiet circle from the base to the handset, as if the other end is the world they once lived in. As long as they pick it up, they can return to it. Talk to them.
I like the woman looking up to the sky in the picture. The upper right corner is her hand reaching towards the sky, and the lower left corner is a little further away from her back sitting by the lake. The three photos naturally make me feel that they are the same person, a daughter and a sister.
And between looking into the distance, wanting to touch and lowering one's head, people can't help but think of the scene in "Love Letter" where Hiroko looks up to the sky, and how Hiroko shouted loudly to the mountain where Fujii Shu left: "How are you?" ? I'm fine."
Yes, I'm fine. I think this is the most powerful and precious gift that the dead can give to those who are still alive.
3 Infinite Dream
The most experiential one is "Infinite Dream" by Yu Haocheng.
I personally like the experience of combining music, visuals and installations. Especially in a specific space, it can surround you from all directions, as if a baby is peacefully in the womb. That little Space is the whole world.
The main screen is surrounded by a mirror design, which is a metaphor for the idea of ??parallel universes expressed by the artist in the caption. He believes that dreams are the only way to parallel worlds.
The content of the dream is the four elements of the West: water, fire, wind, and earth. This leads to the question: The four major elements make up the world, so what does the so-called void as the fifth element mean in it?
Let’s talk about the sense of experience first. The pictures and sounds embodied by each element are very impactful. The only thing I feel lacking is the sense of being in this empty space. This feeling is like you have opened the door and entered another world. .
I once saw Yayoi Kusama's "Infinity Mirrored Room", which seemed to have lost gravity and fell into the stars of the universe. There is an eternal sense of tranquility. Once you are in it, it is like a flower in the world.
"Infinite Dreamland" lacks such an experience. I feel that the design can be improved, and it would be better if the details can be well controlled. For example, the footprints on the ground are mirrored, so you can wear shoe covers before visiting.
Of course, the overall experience is still very immersive, and you can just follow the screen and wander around.
Finally, back to the creator’s question, what is void or some ultimate form?
What this question reminds me of is the meaning of life.
For a while, I felt that life must be meaningful. However, the more I thought about it, the more I fell into the illusion that life is meaningless, and I became frightened.
I happened to read the "Tao Te Ching" when I was confused. Lao Tzu's "taking advantage of nothing" made people enlightened.
A room fulfills its purpose just because it is empty and nothingness.
Only when a person can have an "empty cup" and "selfless" state in his heart can he abandon distracting thoughts, avoid self-criticism of the formed self, and avoid fear of things that have not yet happened, and do things well in the present moment. .
The same is true in life. It is precisely because there is no meaning that meaning is formed step by step.
4 Searching
Li Xuemeng’s "Searching" series is the most involving.
In the middle of the gray-blue composition is a broken mirror. The middle of the mirror seemed to have been hit by a bullet and split into five pieces. The real self imprinted in it also seemed to be split. You can look for yourself from different perspectives in the mirror.
Searching and feeling are also a theme of life. But I personally find it an interesting, curious subject without so much grey-blue confusion.
So I participated with a playful mentality. If I want to set a tone for the search, I hope it is the twinkling starlight, imprinted in the river and hanging high in the sky.
In addition to the above exhibitions, there are many artists’ works that I like, but I don’t have too many thoughts left.
Post some random photos, let the feeling of that moment continue, leap through space and time, and just come to you.