In celebration of the upcoming premiere of the dance theatre production Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove – A Modern Interpretation in Hong Kong, and in particular, of the contributions by Visual and Costume Designer Hong Lei for the production, Schoeni Art Gallery will be presenting the collection of the artist’s Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove photograph series, which was the crucial source of inspiration for the theatre production team. The photography exhibition opens on Thursday 14 March at the Schoeni Branch Gallery on Hollywood Road, and runs until 14 April.
This cutting-edge dance theatre reinterpretation of the famous Seven Sages legend directed by Chinese-American choreographer Yin Mei and produced by the Hong Kong Dance Company, will take over the stage of the Kwai Tsing Theatre Auditorium from 16 to 18 March 2012. Audiences would be brought into a part-historical, part-illusionary journey back in time to the ancient town of Shanyang, where they would experience the power of the form, style and movement of Chinese dance filtered through the aesthetic of Hong Lei’s ingenious visual and costume designs.
The original modern reinterpretation of Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove through photographs by Hong Lei had taken him one whole year to complete, and was a collection that garnered great attention in the art scene due to the astoundingly anti-traditional approach he took in reinterpreting and portraying the Seven Sages: namely, his decision to have seven top female supermodels of China play the roles of the seven characters, who were typically depicted throughout history as bearded, mid-aged drinking men.
Hong Lei’s photographs feature the seven aloof-looking “sages” in exotic makeup, contemporary hairstyle and costumes made of chic dazzling European fabrics that altogether created a style carrying both the ancient beauty of the Han dynasty terracotta as well as a touch of futuristic metallic glamour, making it a remarkable collection that both paid homage to and subverted the 1700-year-old Chinese hagiography. Moreover, Hong Lei’s artistic vision expressed in this series of photographs perfectly corresponded to Yin Mei’s choreographic approach, eventually becoming the major source of inspiration to her creation of the dance theatre version.
“I have always thought the seven sages to be a group of coquettish men, so I would use female supermodels. And also since they (the Seven Sages) were one of the very first people in the world to do drugs and narcotize themselves; the way they distant themselves and try to evade (from reality) resembles that collapsed generation in the 60’s and 70’s,” explained Hong Lei to art critic Wu Hong at the initial stage for the photo shoot.
As the art critic remarked, Hong Lei has expanded the concept of the “Seven Sages” in this series, which is not only visually captivating, but also profoundly symbolic – he no longer sees the “Seven Sages” as simply the seven characters in history, but a concept that summarizes his overall impression and appreciation of the essence and demeanour of the long extinct Wei-Jin Dynasty; it is an unprecedented visualisation of the Seven Sages that is “both ancient and modern, both self-centered and historical, both artistic and fashionable.”
The Story of the “Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove”
The legendary Seven Sages were seven Taoist scholars, writers and musicians who gathered during the chaotic late Western-Jin Dynasty (3rd century CE).
The Seven Sages, as traditionally depicted, was an artistic yet erratic group who strived to escape the intrigues, corruption and stifling atmosphere of court life when the avowedly “Confucian” Jin Dynasty came to power. They gathered in a bamboo grove in Shanyang (in Henan province today) where they played music and wrote poems criticising authorities while praising the simple, rustic life and celebrating the enjoyment of wine, personal freedom, spontaneity and nature. The seven ended up going their different ways as some of them tried to negotiate their difficult political positions by self-consciously adopting the roles of alcoholic eccentrics, while others eventually capitulated and joined the Jin dynasty. The Seven Sages, or the symbol that they became, are influential in Chinese poetry, music, art, and overall culture, while their rebellious and freedom-loving spirit is respected and celebrated until this very day.
“Is it that my longing for the spirit of the Seven Sages have long been hidden in my sub consciousness? That I don’t know. But the rebellious attitude has indeed been with me all along, because I never wanted a mediocre and common life. I needed to rebel against family rules and everything not in line with my ideals. But more often I wished to escape – to flee from this world. So perhaps in this way I’m spiritually connected to the Seven Sages.”
-- Hong Lei.
