Over a hundred years of development, photography has been transformed from merely documentary to a form of art. With the increased popularity of digital photography, artists have taken different approaches to express and explore the possibilities of photography. With their artworks, artists engage the viewers between the reality and fictitious worlds without displaying a clear boundary of the two. As the opening exhibitions of Blindspot Gallery, “A Departure from Reality: A Trilogy of Contemporary Photography” curated by Janet Fong features artworks by six Mainland and Hong Kong artists to explore the theme each with a different focus.
Blindspot Gallery is proud to present the first of the trilogy exhibition - “A Departure from Reality I: Self-assertion.psd” as its first opening exhibition. “Self-assertion.psd” places emphasis on the “self” of the artists featuring digitally manipulated photographs and videos by Mainland Chinese artist, Miao Xiaochun, and Hong Kong artist, Enoch Cheung. Exhibited works of both artists are in panoramic formats yet both deliver completely different messages and styles. Both artists, Miao Xiaochun and Enoch Cheung, photographed what interested them, which in their cases were, the city of Beijing and an abandoned children hospital in London respectively. Based on the subjectively selected scenes and compositions, the sense of “self” is further enhanced by the digital manipulation of the images.
Miao Xiaochun, being a well-established artist in Beijing, has his very own and unique passion about this city where he resides. Inspired by the famous Chinese painting “Qingming Festival Along the River” from the Song Dynasty, Miao’s “Beijing Hand Scroll” is a collection of extensive images taken in the city of Beijing that were then digitally arranged into panoramic form and mounted into hand scrolls. During the digital manipulation, saturation of colors was reduced to imitate the “No-tan” (No: 濃 (dense) and Tan: 淡 (dilute) tonality) poetic visual impression of Chinese ink painting. Hand scroll was chosen as a format to display the images because Miao thinks that it is best for private observation. Along with a video Miao created which flashes the images of “Beijing Hand Scroll” displaying in eight separate screens along with sounds recorded on the street; Miao Xiaochun has brilliantly re-created Beijing that collectors and viewers can have not just a glimpse of, but vivaciously experience.
Having connected emotionally to hospital due to his past working experience years ago, Hong Kong artist Enoch Cheung, started his series “Secret Dialogue: About Children Hospital” comprising photographs and a video while he was pursuing a Master of Fine Art in London. After a couple of visits to the site, Cheung felt an emotional connection to a children hospital located in Hackney, which was deserted over 10 years. Cheung was only allowed in the premise secretly in the evening and most parts inside with no power supply, Cheung adopted the method “light painting” to illuminate different spots of the site by memory without being able to see. Apart from photographs, Cheung has also created a dual screen High Definition video showing images inside of the hospital. Words, images and objects are intentionally outlined and cut out resembling silhouettes in the optic field when sight is fixed and exposed to a certain objects for a long time. “The images and use of effect are simply “triggers” of the thinking of the past……” Cheung said.
About Miao Xianchun
Renowned artist from Beijing, Miao received his professional art training at The Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing and later Kunsthochschule Kassel in Germany. Miao’s artworks are globally exhibited at major galleries and museums such as the International Center of Photography in New York and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Miao is currently teaching at the Photography Department at The Central Academy of Fine Arts.
About Enoch Cheung
Young Hong Kong artist, Cheung received his Master of Fine Art from the Chelsea College of Art and Design in London. His “Secret Dialogue: About Children Hospital” photograph series will be featured in the “Hong Kong Photo Series 2 – City Flaneur: Social Documentary Photography” at The Hong Kong Heritage Museum in June 2010 and the video of the series is recently selected by the “DIGIFESTA” 2010 Media Festival in Korea as one of the finalists of the contest. Enoch has participated in different exhibitions in Asia and Europe.
