Wei Zihan Solo Exhibition —— The Illusion of Nogeyama
Artist：Wei Zihan
Curator：Xiao Ruiyun
Art Director: Teng Qingyun
Organizer: Three Shadows Xiamen Photography Art Centre
Duration: Mar 13, 2021– Apr 11, 2020
Opening：Mar 13, 2021 15:00
Venue: No. 301, Building 2, Xinglinwan Business Center, Jimei District, Xiamen
(Enter from the large platform connecting Building 1 and Building 2)
The Illusion of Nogeyama
Text/Wei Zihan
For some people,
the top of the mountain is a place to conquer.
For that mountain,
it is the place where it snows.
-- Abbas Kiarostami, "A Wolf Lying in Wait"
Relationality is more than just the passage of one party. It is a two-way interrelationship. The formation of different relationships is also based on having different positions and perspectives. The existential meaning of things is transformed into a visual language, forming a huge pool of information that is then used by the human species. The essence is to "see" and "be seen". There are two paths in my understanding of the landscapes in life: the visual language that humans use to express their feelings, and the relational nature implied by the visual language.
Preface to Wei Zihan’s Solo Exhibition
Text/Xiao Ruiyun
Wei Zihan's solo exhibition presents a zoo world where human beings are removed and "relationship" is implanted into the narrative of her works.
Between the perspectives of animals and humans, between fictional stories and real scenes, Wei has made an effective transformation in her works. From the perspective of animals, the zoo and the human living environment seem to be two clearly defined spaces. When our viewpoint goes from humans and to the eyes of the 12 monkeys in the exhibition, escaping from the empty zoo into the equally empty human space, such visual images guide us to question: what is the relationship between humans and animals?
While "anthropocentrism" has made us accustomed to seeing animals as the Other, Wei’s work "Going to the Zoo is Serious Business" shifts the subjective perspective and reminds us that humans and animals are shaping each other at the same time. While it is commonly believed that humans and animals are in a "vertical" evolutionary relationship, Wei’s work presents a "horizontal" interrelationship, not only abolishing the subjectivity of humans, but also "taking animals as the entry point to present the perception of this relational issue.” 1
Wei's other series, "The Taste of Emotion," focuses on the form, locality, and surroundings of animals. Animals evoke our emotions with subtleties such as sight, touch and even taste, forming an archival memory bank of each individual's perception. In postmodern theory, the binary relationship between animals and humans is gradually breaking down. The contemporary philosopher Bernard Stiegler argues that humans do not have their own cognitive "instincts", but acquire them by imitating the characteristics of various animals.2 "The Taste of Emotion" echoes this question to some extent, that is, the fundamental difference between humans and animals lies in the deficiency of the former. The visual spectacle and sensory stimulation of animals bridge part of our imagination, emotions and desires as human beings.
Notes
1 Interview with Wei Zihan
2 Bernard Stiegler, La Technique et le temps (1994)
About the Artist
Wei Zihan
Born in 1994 in China, Based in Tokyo.
Her career in photography began while she went to Communication University of China.
She Graduated from Musashino Art University, Department of Imaging Arts and Sciences.
Now,She worked as a freelance photographer in Tokyo.Her works mainly focus on the distance
between people, the way people are connected to other spaces, and the relationship between
people and the things around them.
Selected Awards
2020 Photography 306 Review Award
2020 Reminders Photography Stronghold ‘COVID-19 Pandemic’ Finalist
2019 Kiyosato Museum of Photographic Arts
2019 Canon Ginza Presents Shines Award
2019 21st "1_WALL" Photography Finalist
2018 Imageless Dummy Photo-Zine Awards Finalist China