香格纳新加坡 | 唐茂宏东南亚驻留项目《诺阿·诺阿》

唐茂宏：《诺阿·诺阿》，东南亚驻留项目

Tang Maohong: Noa Noa, Southeast Asia Residency Exhibition

开幕 | Opening

2019/05/03, 4pm-7pm

展期 | Duration

2019/05/04 – 07/14

地址 | Location

香格纳新加坡，新加坡Lock路9号02-22吉门营房

ShanghART Singapore, 9 Lock Road, #02-22, Gillman Barracks, Singapore 108937

香格纳新加坡将于2019年5月4日至7月14日荣幸呈现唐茂宏东南亚驻留项目个展。艺术家之前对东南亚的印象相似于高更笔下的大溪地：蓝天绿地，云朵大和投影强，冲突而和谐；因此展览名称取自于高更在大溪地时写的手记《诺阿·诺阿》。这本手记对唐茂宏而言不仅是早年的阅读影响，更是对“艺术作品只能是由当地因素激发出来的成果”这一重要原则的提示。由于时间关系，驻留免不了有走马看花的一面，因此艺术家必须携带之前的所有积累和敏感，把游历当作一个激发场、一个孵化器来对待，以期产生作品的想法。

ShanghART Singapore is pleased to present a solo exhibition by our artist-in-residence, Tang Maohong, from 4 May to 14 July 2019. Taking inspiration from Paul Gauguin’s famed but controversial residency in the Tahiti, the exhibition title borrows from Gauguin’s travelogue Noa Noa: The Tahitian Journal. Such a reference reflects the artist’s initial impression of Southeast Asia as a place of lush greenery and azure skies, with big clouds and strong shadows; contrasting yet harmonious landscapes. Aside from being part of the artist’s childhood memory, the book brings forward an important principle in art practice – a work is ultimately the product of stimulations from the artist’s environment. As such, the limited duration of a residency forces the artist to treat his journey as a catalyst; the foreign land thus becomes some sort of incubator for pre-existing ideas.

固体液体气体和肉体 Solid, Liquid, Gas, and Flesh | 2019 | 单频道彩色高清动画 Single-channel animation | 16:9, with audio | 3 minutes

高更的影响之深远，从南洋画派中便可一望而知。新加坡早期画家们笔下的巴厘岛一如高更的大溪地，充满他们对热带岛屿生活的好奇与不切实际的憧憬。由此可见，‘另一个国度’对艺术创作而言不仅是地理环境与创作主题上的变动，更是一种思想上的捏造。历史上的驻留艺术家们往往专注于外界的新奇而忽略了本身思维与世界观的局限性，甚至沾有东方主义的嫌疑。唐茂宏的驻留作品有意避开过于本土化与浪漫化的视觉素材，以冷静的态度来思考他在驻留时期的体验和身份状态。因考虑到东南亚地区大多数国家都有过被殖民史，再加上人口迁徙在全球范围内越来越频繁，人群的身份认定也变得愈加复杂，唐茂宏再次借用了高更的作品名“我们从哪里来？我们是谁？我们到哪里去？”来引出他对“国家”这个概念的探讨。

The long-lasting influence of Gauguin can be glimpsed from the travels and practices of Nanyang style artists. The tropical island of Bali stood in as their Tahiti as they projected onto it their fantasies of an exotic realm. The 'other place' hence presents the artist with not just a shift in geographical location, but also, and perhaps more so, a flight of fantasy. Artists who painted foreign landscapes traditionally paid more attention to the novelty of their environment and overlooked the element of stereotypes and orientalist biases. Tang’s residency projects consciously avoid overtly cultural-specific visuals and romantic ideals; adopting a disinterested eye towards the surface of things and focusing on the reality of identity in relation to larger political entities such as countries. As human migration becomes ever more prevalent, in addition to the fact that most parts of Southeast Asia have colonial histories, our understanding of self-identity becomes more complex than before. To address this complication, Tang again borrows from Gauguin the questions "Where do we come from? What are we? Where are we going?"[1] as an entry point in his exploration of the concept of "country".

给人们分类是件很麻烦的事情 Categorising Humans Is a Chore | 2019 | 三频道彩色高清动画 Multi-channel animation | 4:3, with audio | 6'38", 5'50", 5'22"

展览的主体作品《给人们分类是件很麻烦的事情》以均等的、去中心化的循环结构来分别罗列198个国家和地区的国徽、国旗、和国家地图。国徽、国旗和地图是一个国家的象征，也是国家最具代表性的官方视觉符号。国徽安排在一个持续循环倒转的沙漏中，沙漏置于一个隧道状的空间里，硬质的国徽在持续循环倒转的沙漏中流动变形。国旗被安排在一个仰视的角度——那是一个它常处在的位置，在一个个方格中机械的交替变换。地图被描绘成一个板块状物体，在钟摆的左右摆动中，板块状地图被处理成为左右两端圆球之间暂时的一个抽象板块，只有在每次钟摆的左右摆动中的正中间一帧才是一个标准的国家的地图形状。这件动画作品里的沙漏、方格、钟摆里的平板都是循环运动的，包括两个动画的背景也是循环的。艺术家认为重复是一种迷人的节奏，无论是听觉上还是视觉上都有一丝无聊的意味；剔除依附在国徽、国旗和地图上的严肃的、规范的气氛，并能让人在一种慵懒的状态下想一下宏大开阔的问题 。

The centrepiece, Categorising Humans Is a Chore, presents the state crests, flags, and maps of 198 countries in a series of looping graphics. As symbols of political entities, the three elements are usually the most recognisable representations of governing bodies. The state crests are depicted in an hourglass; tipping over endlessly and gradually losing their forms in the process. The flags are arranged in an upward angle – as how they are usually seen, flashing and inter-changing in a geometric formation. The maps are portrayed as oscillating flat pieces; warping and stretching as they approach either side of the screen, only appearing in their standard ratios in the middle. The movements in the videos are repetitive and recurring in nature, resulting in a seamless loop. To Tang, repetition is a mesmerising tempo. The hint of tediousness introduced to the work undermines the solemn nature of the state symbols whilst encouraging viewers to contemplate on the topic in a mood of lethargy.

海水边1 Seaside 1 | 2019 | 布面丙烯 Acrylic on canvas | 35.5x45.7cm

本次展览是香格纳画廊在新加坡国家艺术理事会（The National Arts Council, NAC）和新加坡经济发展局（Singapore Economic Development Board, EDB）的支持下，推出的艺术家驻留项目，探索新加坡作为艺术实践和触发灵感目的地的潜力，以及作为艺术展览和商业中心的地位 。

The Southeast Asia residency programme was made possible by ShanghART with the support of the National Arts Council (NAC) and the Economic Development Board of Singapore (EDB), exploring the potential of Singapore as a site for artistic practice and inspiration, in addition to its status as a hub for art exhibition and business.

[1] Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going? is a painting by French artist Paul Gauguin painted between 1897 to 1898.

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关于艺术家

About the artist

唐茂宏（生于1975，现工作生活在北京）在涉及艺术史和大众文化的同时也暗中的破坏了它们。他整合了大量的视觉元素和主题事件，制造出的作品存在于高雅艺术和流行图像之间的模糊边界。在他的作品里，荒谬，神奇，幽默以及对峙这些因素共存一体，预示了这些象征性物体的设置，并非仅仅只是幻想那么简单。唐茂宏的图像世界所反映出的并非只是一个新主题的诞生—— 一个灵魂附着在变换如流的图像环境中的发自内心的想像，同时也是对因为负累而行动迟缓的传统的一个反向。

Tang Maohong (b. 1975) lives and works in Beijing, China. He simultaneously references and undermines art history and popular culture. He has integrated a variety of visual elements and subject matters, producing works that inhabit the ever-blurred border between elegant art and popular illustration. His work is absurd, magical, humorous and confrontational, hinting that the juxtapositions of figurative objects might be more than just illusions. Tang Maohong's pictorial universe reflects not only a new subject – a psyche whose internal eclectic imagination is echoed in the environment of constantly flowing images – but also the inversion of out-grown traditions. 

近期的展览包括：唐茂宏个展：河床，香格纳北京，北京（2017）；BHAU DAJI LAD博物馆影像艺术项目，BHAU DAJI LAD博物馆，孟买，印度（2014）；唐茂宏个展:飞地控, 香格纳北京，北京（2013）；绿盒子，重绘形貌· 媒体现实的空间，杭州（2013）；墨不到，桃浦当代艺术中心 （2012）；2012 漂流记，ARKO艺术中心 （2012）；大字，孙逊/唐茂宏/张鼎的合作项目，香格纳北京，北京（2011）；上海滩1979-2009，上海（2009）。

Recent exhibitions include: TANG Maohong: Riverbed, ShanghART Beijing, Beijing (2017); Video Art at Bhau Daji Lad Museum, Bhau Daji Lad Museum, Mumbai, India (2014); TANG Maohong: Exclave Con, TANG Maohong Solo Exhibition, ShanghART Beijing, Beijing (2013); Green Box, Remapping - The Space of Madia Reality, Hangzhou (2013); Uninkable, Taopu Contemporary Art Centre, Shanghai (2012); Nomadic Report 2012, Arko Art Center, Seoul (2012); Huge Character, Cooperation Project by SUN Xun, TANG Maohong, ZHANG Ding, ShanghART Beijing, Beijing (2011); and Shanghai History in Making from 1979 till 2009, Shanghai (2009).