Venue: Camden Image Gallery (174 Royal College Street London NW1 0SP)
Exhibition Hours: 12.00-19.00 26th June to 1st July, 2015
‘London–the city of fog’ is one of London’s most well-known stereotypes among people in China. When Dickens’ famous Oliver Twist was introduced in China, the title was literally translated as ‘The orphan in the foggy capital’. Though it has been over half a century since the Great Smog of ’52, many Chinese people still expect to be shrouded in fog on their first visit to London. To the surprise of most, London is mercifully fog-free. Ironically, fog is no longer new to people in today’s China. Pollution has brought Beijing back into the past—– like London in its fifties and sixties.
On 11th December 2013, an impenetrable fog rolled into London and heavily enveloped the city. Coincidentally, ‘The 2013 Eastern China Smog’, which is one of the worst bouts of air pollution in the area attacked China within the same month. The fog that lingered over the two countries blurs the differences between the post-industrial UK and the fast-industrializing China. However, the fog in the UK makes people reflect the past, whilst the fog in China makes people fear about the future.
Chasing Fog: Albert Zhang Solo Exhibition features 12 photographs, all taken by the artist on the 11th December 2013 in London. As an artist born and bred in Beijing, Albert has a complex feeling towards fog. Though obsessed by the artistic beauty of it, Albert knows the meaning of fog to Beijing, which has made his hometown somewhere ‘uninhabitable for human beings’. The smothering, rising mist in these images paradoxically heighten the poetic illusionary beauty and evoke traditional Chinese painting through the ages. This is also not lost on Albert’s attraction to such foggy vistas. Albert’s photographs are his artistic response to the environmental and social issues we face today.
By Lang Xiao (Curator)
‘雾都’—–这是让很多中国人记住伦敦的第一个‘“关键词’”。狄更斯的小说Oliver Twist在香港被译为《苦海孤雛》， 而在中国大陆则多被译作《雾都孤儿》。尽管距离1952年的伦敦烟雾事件已经过去了半个多世纪，很多中国人对‘“伦敦雾”的期待似乎没有降低。然而，伦敦往往让它的首次造访者感到‘“失望’”，曾经烟雾缭绕的污染重镇如今早已烟消云散。但出乎我们意外的意料的是，高速工业化城镇化带来的污染反倒一下子把中国变回了五六十年代的伦敦。
2013年12月11日，伦敦大雾围城。碰巧的是，此刻的中国正在经历‘东部严重雾霾事件’。盘旋在另一个不同国家上空的雾似乎在这特定的时刻模糊了后工业时代的英国与飞速工业化的中国之间的差别。伦敦的这场由天气原因造成的壮观大雾使人们反思过去；而中国的那场严重雾霾侧让人们忧思未来。
寻雾：张朝晖摄影作品展’”汇集了艺术家在2013年12月11日在伦敦大雾围城之日拍摄的12张作品。作为一个北京出生北京长大土生土长的北京人，张朝晖对‘雾’有着复杂的情感。 艺术家一方面被‘雾’的美丽神秘所吸引，雾中的伦敦在其摄影作品中透露出‘中国水墨’的意境和审美。另一方面，艺术家又不得不去面对‘雾’或‘雾霾’给北京甚至中国带来的伤痛。 本次展览也是艺术家对于当今环境和社会问题的一种回应。
策展人： 肖朗
Highlights
- A young emerging Chinese artist, Albert Zhang, captures through his lens the intensity of fog that overwhelmed London’s city landscape on 11th December 2013
- As a Beijing born and bred artist, he contrasts this collection with a series of iPhone shots that record the insufferable smog experienced in China today, taken by the artist’s parents in Beijing.
- His exhibition questions the interaction between human behavior and the natural environment, and links post-industrial UK with fast-industrializing China.
SECTION 1:
Obsessed with the beauty of fog, the artist captures the scenery around his London residence during the fog on 11th December 2013. The audience will see an array of 12 photographs that have iconic London features, including the Cutty Sark, Greenwich Park and Canary Wharf’s financial district.
Although he focuses on visions of London, his photographs mirror traditional Chinese ink paintings and a Chinese landscape. The misty character of his photographs blurs the setting of the photographs, creating a beautifully mysterious resemblance of both the UK and China.
SECTION 2:
Isolated away from the main exhibition space, this second section of the exhibition displays 30 iPhone photographs taken by his parents residing in Beijing’s most central district. Of which, is the artist’s experiment to compare the living environment in China and the UK, and environmental impacts of climate change.
中国青年艺术家张朝晖通过镜头捕捉2013年12月11日浓雾笼罩下的伦敦城市景观
作为土生土长的北京人，他邀请其依然在北京生活居住的父母用iPhone拍摄一系列照片，记录下下当今中国令人不堪忍受的烟雾，与自己的作品形成对比
其作品试图探寻人类活动与自然环境之间的平衡与失衡。艺术家视角中的 “雾”使模糊了后工业化时代的英国与正处在工业化迅猛发展中的中国产生了关联
展览第一部分:
此部分展览汇集了艺术家在2013年12月11日浓雾围城之日拍摄下的伦敦城市景观。观众可以在展出的12幅作品中看到包括卡蒂萨克号、格林尼治公园、 伦敦金丝雀码头金融区在内的伦敦地标性景观在雾中犹如中国传统水墨画般的神秘和美丽意象。
展览第二部分:
此部分展览独立于本次展览的主展区。艺术家介入式地用艺术来回应环境问题。观众将看到30幅由艺术家居住生活在北京的父母用iPhone拍摄的北京天气环境。旨在记录对比“雾”在不同的政治经济空间里所含有的不同意义以及与我们每一个个体的关系。
About the artist
Albert Zhang (B.1990) 张朝晖
Albert was born and grew up in Beijing. He came to the UK in 2009. He has BA in media production at University of Bedfordshire in the UK. Apart from making photographs, Albert is also a young entrepreneur in filmmaking. His works have been used by BMW and London Fashion Week, etc. was
张朝晖北京出生，北京长大。他于2009前往英国，并在贝尔福特大学媒体制作专业获得学士学位。除了拍摄照片之外，张朝晖还是一位在影像视频领域的年轻创业者。他的作品曾被宝马、伦敦时装周等品牌使用。他参与拍摄的短片在2015年戛纳电影节短片角展映。
About ARTouch Young Emerging Chinese Artist Program (YECAP)
This exhibition is the inaugural exhibition of ARTouch Young Emerging Chinese Artist Program (YECAP). YECAP is a dynamic art-incubator program for young Chinese artists ages 18-40 who seek to debut their artistic career and present their works to the British audience. ARTouch Consulting, a leading arts PR and arts agency in China and the UK, will help YCAP artists organise exhibitions in London-based galleries, connect with established artists of our time, prominent collectors, leading figures in the art world, and provide advice and consultation on their artistic career development. For more information, please email: info@artouchconsulting.com
艺触中国青年艺术家培养项目(YECAP)
本展览是艺触咨询中国青年艺术家培养项的展览之一。该项目致力于发掘和培养年龄介于18-40周岁的中国青年艺术，为他们提供艺术生涯发展规划建议以及展示推广平台。艺触咨询是中英两国艺术市场的领先艺术公关及艺术经纪咨询公司。艺触咨询创立于2013年，总部位于英国伦敦。自创立起，艺触咨询已经在中英两国成功策划举办多场美术馆/画廊艺术展览，协助中英两国艺术家、艺术机构参与国际顶尖艺术博览会和艺术节，并完成多个艺术收藏推广咨询项目。请咨询：info@artouchconsulting.com
