osage

osage hong kong
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PRESS RELEASE
To Arts and Features Editors
For Immediate Release
15th February 2017

Osage at Art Basel Hong Kong 2017
March 21‐25, 2017 | HKCEC, Wanchai

Insights | Booth 3D39 | Jiang Zhi, Shen Shaomin, Zhao Zhao
Encounters | Booth 1E06 | Shen Shaomin
Film | agnès b. CINEMA | Shen Shaomin
Salon | Auditorium | Shen Shaomin, Masaki Fujihata
INSIGHTS – TREMBLING, TWISTING, TESTING
Curatorial Statement:
Trembling is often taken as a sign of weakness – stimulated by a state of too much, or too little,
a state beyond the normal, which reduces us to our bodies and its own instincts. It is the body
existing beyond the will of the mind. In modern society, where we are disciplined and ourmovements ‘choreographed’ to ensure maximum efficiency and harmony, trembling is a signof the primitive. Presented as part of the Insights booth will be projects by three Chinese
artists who outline mechanisms of power and control through making visible moments of thevery opposite – instances of slippages, outbursts of transgression and situations that spiralout of control. In these moments we are witnesses to vulnerability, to the unspoken rules ofdaily life, and to possibilities of existing beyond these rules.
Jiang Zhi sees emotion as the central focal point of his practice. Particularly, in his video
installation, Tremble, Jiang Zhi probes expressions of emotions when they “reach a certain
point of transition.” Tremble consists of seven life sized projections, each projection depicting
a person, either male or female, in the nude, holding static poses to the best of their ability
while standing on top of vibrating plates. The effort of maintaining control is more visible on
the faces of some than on others – the occasional flinch, prolonged blink, or the determinedgaze being some tell‐tale signs. Tremble enables us to see the most shocking interpretationof discipline and micro power embedded in all of the bones and muscles of our bodies. At thesame time, trembling shakes us loose as if an exorcism of pent up tensions is performed –hence a moment of release. Véronic‐Ting Chen accredits this trembling to that induced by thestate of hyper capitalism: “Ours is a system that can stimulate us into an involuntary state ofexcitation, into artificial Parkinson’s that seems voluntary, but in fact is unnatural, despite
how natural we deem it to be…in this system there is something we are always sentimentally
attached to, that is the illusion of freedom.”
Shen Shaomin turns invisible violence into tangible forms in his Bonsai series. The work
consists of Bonsai plants on and around which the artist has placed metal tools – cables, nuts,bolts – in an attempt to restrict the growth of the Bonsai. Bonsai makes us reconsider thebrutality in daily life, particularly that which has been transformed into kinds of aesthetic
perception or concealed within nature itself. This group of works achieves its efficacy notbecause it displays the results of these man‐made transformations, but makes apparent theprocess of transformation itself. From a broader standpoint, Bonsai reveals an introspective
look on the notion of control. Control can take place in the abuse of the physical body, likefoot binding, and it can also be performed through a distortion of intellect and psychology,
such as training children to become filial sons, faithful wives, and “war heroes.” Revealing
conflict and tragedy, Bonsai delves into an essential layer of human culture.1Zhao Zhao‘s four performance works – A Slap to the Face, Crush, Leather Shoes and Family –test the unspoken rules of a society. A Slap to the Face is the first part the series. Throughopen calls, Zhao Zhao was able to recruit volunteer Zhao Haixing. At a designated place at
20:20:20 on the 20th of October, 2013, the volunteer let Zhao Zhao slap him once each on hisright and left cheek. For, Crush, volunteer Sun Yuan was recruited through open calls. Sun
Yuan agreed to let Zhao Zhao stab him in the back with a knife. In Leather Shoes, the knife
used in Crush to stab Sun Yuan in the back is given as a gift to the next volunteer, in a totemic
exchange. The condition being that this volunteer must convince Zhao Zhao for the gift. Familyis the last part to the series. Zhao Zhao was introduced as a guest to a family of six by avolunteer. Zhao Zhao’s intentions in the visit to the family was to try to prolong/overstay hiswelcome as a guest. Zhao Zhao stayed from noon on the 5th of December 2014 until he waskicked out by the family at 2:40 am the next day. Through setting up these exchanges, Zhao
Zhao creates acts of transgression that in turn makes himself and the participants vulnerable
and open, in an almost Bataille inspired fashion. It is in these abrupt social contexts that
irreplaceable bonds are formed between the artist and the participants of the performance.
As witnesses to these relationships, we are called to probe the frontiers of the fabric of social
relations.

ENCOUNTERS
Shen Shaomin’s Summit has a profound semantic aspect in its naming. The Chinese forsummit is ‘feng hui’. The character ‘feng’, taken literally, means ‘peak’, ‘top of the mountain’,or rather ‘authority’. Going further, it can also mean ‘avant‐garde’, ‘sharp’ or ‘acute’. There isan old Chinese saying, ‘Man can top the highest mountain’, follow from which summit or ‘feng
hui’ can also be seen as an encounter between superiors.

1Wu Hung, Curatorial notes on Bonsai by Shen Shaomin.

When referring to the word ‘summit’, the annual G8 Summit (Group of 8 summit involving
America, England, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Canada and Russia) or the Davos World
Economic Forum, comes to mind. At the G8 Summit every year, manifestos are made andperspectives shared regarding the global political and economic events, while views from theDavos World Economic Forum are always the centre of attention of economists worldwide.
The objective of a summit is to establish its authority and shape public opinion throughdiscussion and dialogue, reaching consensus on important issues. The project Summit takes
as its starting point a hypothetical summit meeting of the most significant Communist leadersin history, Vladimir Lenin, Mao Zedong, Kim Il Sung, Ho Chi Minh and Fidel. The work wascreated during a time when the whole world was drawn into a vortex of economic crisis andquestions had emerged about the values inherent in Capitalism. These questions havebecome even more important today: are the ideas and ideals of these long‐gone socialist
vanguards still relevant? Will their ideas, concepts and theories reflect ours again someday?
Coming of age during the grim years of the Cultural Revolution in China, the artist envisages
the work as his riposte to these questions.
This hypothetical meeting is only possible because of the very fact that socialist countries
have a practice of preserving the bodies of their leaders. The only difference is in the shapesof the crystal coffins these past leaders are kept in, which reflect their different culturalorigins. The project will therefore present the five leaders with their bodies in crystal coffins,
holding the summit in the formation of a pentagram. One exception is Castro, whose demise
only came after the conception of the artwork. The former Cuban statesman lies on his
deathbed, still breathing, but speechless, making the summit scene an eerie, silent one.

FILM
Shen Shaomin’s film I am Chinese takes up the issues of refugees and immigrants, as areflection on culture, race and religion. When Germany invaded Russia in WWI, someRussians were forced across the border to Hongjiang Village in China. During the 1960s,
after China and Russia became enemies, many in the village were suspected of spying andthe village became known as the “Village of Spies”. Today in the 21st century, these‘immigrants’ are still trying to integrate with Chinese society.
SALON
Shen Shaomin and Masaki Fujihata will be on the panel for Salon, an open platform for aseries of short, informal presentations, such as artist talks, panels, lectures andperformances with a range of speakers representing many different aspects of the artworld.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Jiang Zhi
Born in 1971, Jiang Zhi comes from Hunan province, China. He currently lives and works inBeijing and Shenzhen, China. He works with a range of mediums; such as photography, video,and installation. From the early stages of his artistic career, Jiang has been writing novels
while taking photographs, which stems from his deep interest in poetry. Jiang Zhi has
consciously positioned himself at the intersection of poetry and sociology. He ferventlyweaves familiar and mundane social experiences into his works, while at the same time
maintaining the tenseness between daily life and our reading of the text. Hence, he has
consistently avoided unspecific personal emotions and political statements, and shies awayfrom feeble expressions and critiques. In this aspect, Jiang’s works are open‐ended, supple,
and possess a taste of poetic vigour.
Shen Shaomin
Born in Heilongjiang province, China. Originally trained as a printer during the Cultural
Revolution, throughout the last 20 years Shen has forged an important international career.
Shen Shaomin is one of a few Australian‐Chinese artists who moved to Sydney in the 1990’s.
Since returning to Beijing, this experience abroad has been a key impetus in his shifts inthinking towards experimental, provocative and audacious work. Shen has presented work
across the US, Europe, China and Australia including the 17th Biennale of Sydney; the first
Kiev Biennial 2012; Liverpool Biennial 2006; Busan Biennial, Korea 2012; Guangzhou
Triennial, China 2012.
Zhao Zhao
Zhao Zhao was born in Xinjiang, China, in 1982. He graduated with a BFA from the Xinjiang
Institute of Arts from the department of Oil Painting in 2003. Zhao Zhao’s multidisciplinary
body of work is an inspection of China’s contemporary profile, and the socio‐politicalconsequences of individual human action. His abstract shattered glass paintings reveal a car
accident he was involved in, and represents the ripple effect of action; his “Safe” sculptures
substantiate his fellow citizens’ paranoid views on security. He currently lives and works inBeijing, China.
Masaki Fujihata
Masaki Fujihata is one of the pioneers of Japanese new media art, beginning his career
working in video and digital imaging in the early 80s. He is most recognized for his
sophisticated interactive network installations and his primary concern has been to employ
multimedia technology in order to examine the possibilities for communication within virtual
spaces. His interactive works include Removable Reality (1992), which used an infraredcordless phone, and Impressing Velocity (1994), in which he used a laptop computerequipped with GPS to digitally map Mount Fuji. Fujihata has exhibited extensively throughout
Japan and internationally, such as the 1983, 1984, 1996, and 2000 Siggraph conferences(USA), Ars Electronica (Linz), DEAF (Rotterdam), “CyberForum” (Lisbon), and VEAF(Vancouver). His work is also part of the permanent collection of the ZKM (Karlsruhe).
ABOUT OSAGE GALLERYOsage Gallery was established in Hong Kong in 2004 and grew quickly to become one ofAsia’s largest commercial gallery groups. Osage has become well known in the art world forits uncompromising support for the most challenging and critically thought‐provoking
contemporary art.
Osage Gallery dances the edge of the latest innovations in art, culture and technology and isa platform for forward thinking and new ideas. Osage Gallery is curatorially driven and aims
to be a catalyst for creative expression and the active engagement of audiences. Its
programmes of exhibitions, publications and research examine the questions that shape andinspire us as individuals, and our cultures and communities.
Osage Gallery has gained wide international recognition for the global, multidisciplinaryand diverse approaches of its programmes. Osage was the first Hong Kong gallery to feature
at the Statements section of Art Basel, Basel in 2011, the Spotlight section at Frieze Masters
in London in 2012, Arte Fiera in Bologna, Italy, 2014, Art Cologne in Germany, 2014, and is
one of the first Hong Kong galleries to participate in Moving Image New York, 2014. Osage
has also participated in Art Hong Kong from 2008 – 2012 and at Art Basel, Hong Kong from2013‐2016.
www.osagegallery.com
Media Enquiries:
Pixel Cascante | pixelcascante@osagegallery.com| +852 2172 1635
Please download high res images from the following link:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B0BploAWkf1bQ0U2aWwydllRS2s

Jiang Zhi
Tremble2009
7 channel video installation
Dimensions variable
Image courtesy of the artist and Osage Gallery

Shen Shaomin
Bonsai No. 20
2016
Plant, iron tools
60 x 50 x 106 cm
Image courtesy of the artist and Osage Gallery

Shen Shaomin
Bonsai No. 21
2016
Plant, iron tools
100 x 50 x 67 cm
Image courtesy of the artist and Osage Gallery

Shen Shaomin
Bonsai No. 22
2016
Plant, iron tools
60 x 50 x 106 cm
Image courtesy of the artist and Osage Gallery

Zhao Zhao
A Slap to the Face
2014
Digital c-print
90 x 150 cm
Image courtesy of the artist and Osage Gallery

Zhao Zhao
Crush2014
Digital c-print
90 x 150 cm
Image courtesy of the artist and Osage Gallery

Zhao Zhao
Leather Shoes
2014
Digital c-print
90 x 150 cm
Image courtesy of the artist and Osage Gallery

Zhao ZhaoFamily
2014
Digital c-print
90 x 150 cm
Image courtesy of the artist and Osage Gallery

Shen Shaomin
Summit2009(as exhibited in After Utopia: Revisiting The Ideal In Asian Contemporary Art at
Singapore Art Museum, 2015)
Installation
Dimensions Variable
Image courtesy of the artist and Osage Gallery

Shen Shaomin
I am Chinese2007
HD video, colour, stereo
1:14’29”
Image courtesy of the Artist and Osage Gallery