Blindspot Gallery is proud to present “Three Begets Ten Thousand Things” featuring one of the most important Chinese contemporary photographers RongRong and his wife also artistic partner, inri. This exhibition will be the first-‐ever solo exhibition of RongRong & inri in Hong Kong.
The exhibition consists of two parts, showcasing over 60 works by the artists. Part I will be a selection of RongRong’s personal work created between 1993 and 2000, presented at Blindspot Gallery. Part II will feature collaborative work of RongRong & inri from 2000 to 2011, a chronicle of the artists’ evolving relationship, art and aspirations through the decade, presented at Blindspot Annex.
RongRong’s acclaimed East Village (1993-‐1998) is one of his most significant series as it witnesses the early experimental art and performance art in China. RongRong participated and documented the performance and photographic art of the first generation of Chinese avant-‐garde artists such as Zhang Huan, Ma Liuming and Zhu Ming in the East Village in the early 90s until its demolition. The series not only portrays RongRong’s own existence, the living environment of the village artists depicted in the images also reflects the social condition in China at that time. Immediately following the series is the Ruins series (1996-‐1998) in which RongRong documented the demolished traditional dwellings under the redevelopment of the city. In the Wedding Gown series, RongRong flaunted a wedding gown that symbolizes love and union, posing with a female companion in an abandoned village. This series reflects RongRong’s internal world and emotions at that time, which were profoundly full of anxiety, loneliness and despair.
Since the encounter of RongRong and inri in 1999, the two have embarked upon a journey of artistic collaboration. Liulitun documented the living of the couple in the Liulitun Village and a silent funeral they held for their habitat when it met the same fate of demolition as the East Village. The couple also documented their travels across China and the world with their cameras, their naked bodies and natural scenery merge in stunning photographic captures, such as In the Great Wall, China, In Yulongxueshan, China and In Bad Goisern, Austria series. Caochangdi and Three Shadows series unveil another important chapters of their story. They chronicle the forming of their family in Caochangdi and the establishment of the Three Shadows Photography Art Centre, the first private contemporary art space dedicated to photography in China.
RongRong & inri will be present at the opening reception. Interviews with the artists are welcomed and can be arranged in advance.
About RongRong & inri
Born in Zhangzhou, Fujian Province, RongRong (b.1968) studied photography at the Central Industrial Art Institute in Beijing in 1992. In the following year, he moved to Beijing’s East Village and first gained attention by participating and documenting the performance art by the young avant-‐garde artists living in the village. In 1996, RongRong founded the New Photo magazine with Liu Zheng.
Born in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, irni (b.1973) graduated from the Nippon Photography Institute in Tokyo in 1994 and worked as a photographer for newspaper Asahi Shinbun. In 1997, she became a freelance photographer to pursue her own creative work. In 2000, she relocated to Beijing to live with RongRong.
RongRong & inri have been collaborating in art since 2000. In 2007, they founded the Three Shadows Photography Art Centre, the first private contemporary art space dedicated exclusively to photography in China. Their works have been exhibited internationally. They had a retrospective exhibition at He Xiangning Art Museum in Shenzhen, China in 2010. RongRong’s East Village and Wedding Gown series have also recently been exhibited respectively at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and The J. Paul Getty Museum, Getty Center in Los Angeles in early 2011. RongRong & inri currently work and live in Beijing.
