M97 Gallery is pleased to present “Waking from Hibernation”, an exhibition of new large format photographs by Hangzhou-based artist Shan Feiming. The exhibition includes works from three of his most recent series: Jungle, Silent Distance, and Waking from Hibernation. This is Shan Feiming’s first exhibition at M97.

Titled after the third period in the Chinese lunar calendar, 惊蛰 or JīngZhé, "Waking from Hibernation" is also referred to as the "awakening of insects" and marks the beginning of new life after the winter season. Shan finds inspiration in the natural world to give voice to his experiences and reflections. 

The Waking from Hibernation (2012) photographs are hauntingly colorful images of wild vegetation and budding trees against the backdrop of a vibrant blue lake. His life and career in a state of flux at the time when these photographs were taken, the tangled branches are the confusion the artist needed to go through to arrive at the place of peace and stability he longed for.

In Silent Distance (2012-2013), standing in the courtyard during the funeral vigil for his grandmother, the excited flight of moths in a warm Spring night and their quiet retreat at the break of dawn remind the artist of life’s impermanence and the many relationships in his life who gradually grow old, eventually part ways, or wither away.

Jungle (2010-2013) is a seven-meter long, five-panel installation photographed over the course of several months in the mountains of Southern Yunnan. Having just moved back to China after finishing his art studies in Germany and in the crossroads of a fresh new start, Shan confronts the viewer with the expansive darkness of an impenetrable forest. Much like the future, that spread of dark jungle is hiding infinite possibilities, and may as well be breeding countless unknown dangers.

*image (left)
courtesy of the artist and M97 Gallery