by Blindspot Gallery Location: Blindspot Gallery
Artist(s): AnotherMountainMan
Date: 1 Aug - 24 Aug 2013
From Su Shi to Bada Shanren, recreates the popular iconology of classical Chinese painting in a highly original rendition. The act of painting on bamboo and other objects was inspired by the work of Su Shi, literary titan and painter from the Northern Song Dynasty, who broke new grounds in many literary and artistic genres of his time. The drive to subvert runs through the series, as the photographic captures of painted bamboo and objects closely resemble classical Chinese painting. Such blurring of reality and illusion alludes to the art of Bada Shanren (Eight Great Mountain Man), master painter from the late Ming and early Qing Dynasty, where all notions of the real are distorted in a surreal universe.
The series marks anothermountainman’s attempt to revive and extend the traditions of classical Chinese art in contemporary rendering. Using photography as the medium, anothermountainman creates a dialogue that transcends time and opens up new interpretations of classical iconology. The work blurs the distinction between photography and painting, and touches on certain questions that lie at the heart of photography.