Poet's Guide to Life

  • Poet's Guide to Life 'If we wish to be let in on the secrets of life, we must be mindful...

    Poet's Guide to Life

     

    "If we wish to be let in on the secrets of life, we must be mindful of two things: first, there is the great melody to which things and scents, feelings and past lives, dawns and dreams contribute in equal measure, and then there are the individual voices that complete and perfect this full chorus."
    ——Poet's Guide to Life, Rainer Maria Rilke
     
    In this world, reason and utility often govern our choices, yet what truly moves the heart are those seemingly useless moments that cause us to pause.
     
    Within Sun Ruixiang's act of seeing, we gradually enter the "breath rhythm of still life." The still objects under his lens serve as vessels of memory, bearing traces of the past and textures touched by time. Photography transforms these objects into photographic paper of memory—both thing and metaphor—where every crease, every shadow, echoes a moment. They are placed here not merely to be seen, but to be remembered. Photography gently lifts their corners, allowing the dormant air to meet us. On the surface of still life, light walks slowly, as if flipping through a very thin album. The camera's gaze lingers on overlooked details, letting light and shadow breathe through the pores of glaze, the folds of wood grain, and the fibers of fabric, slowly seeping into the folds of time.
     
    This exhibition takes still life as its narrative starting point, like a poet holding a guide to life, leading us through the surface and depths of the everyday. It does not cling to functional storytelling but seeks in the quiet details of the images the texture, emotion, and presence behind common objects. Through themes of perception, cognition, and perspective, the exhibition weaves seemingly simple daily symbols with deep cultural and philosophical meaning, imbuing the ordinary with extraordinary life and sparking a rich dialogue between past and present, art and literature. The objects treasured in the artist's studio become a testament to the fusion of observation and imagination. The works avoid overt emotional expression, guiding us with restraint back to the essence of looking, encouraging a direct interaction between viewer and visual world, to sense every frozen instant.
     
    Here, meaning is not fixed but appears and fades within poetic layers. Sun Ruixiang instinctively records the impermanence of form yet chooses straightforward narration to convey emotion. He believes that, more than the subject of photography itself, the act of looking is what matters most. The recurring motifs and everyday things—stones, stairs, dried flowers, portraits, trees—form the foundation of his creation and serve as a guide leading viewers back to the roots of life. Breaking free from narrative conventions, Sun Ruixiang invites viewers to focus on the image itself and experience that fleeting pure visual perception. Just as SIGMA's BF camera embodies the spirit of Beautiful Foolishness, photography ceases to be mere documentation and becomes a choice to swim against the current—seeking in a chaotic world a beauty uniquely one's own and irreplaceable.
     
    At this moment, time is no longer a straight line but the distance between objects—when we approach them, we touch our own past.
  • ARTIST: Sun Ruixiang Born in Shanghai in 1984, Sun Ruixiang is an artist, photographer, and short film director who specializes...

    ARTIST: Sun Ruixiang

     

    Born in Shanghai in 1984, Sun Ruixiang is an artist, photographer, and short film director who specializes in exploring themes of existence and nothingness through a refined and elegant lens. In 2004, he moved to Paris as a fashion model, and began documenting Paris Fashion Week through photography in 2007. Subsequently invited by Karl Lagerfeld to create fashion documentary photography for CHANEL, he gradually expanded into portraiture and fashion photography for Paris-based magazines. After returning to Shanghai in 2011, he focused on portrait and artistic photography. In 2018, he traveled deep into Yunnan Province to create a series of portrait works featuring wild flowers. In 2019, he studied cinematic arts in New York. In 2020, his photographic work Strange Days was shortlisted for the Discovery Award at the Jimei × Arles International Photo Festival. In 2022, he directed his first art short film. In 2024, he continues to operate his photography studio in Shanghai while exploring large-format film photography and traditional darkroom techniques.

  • CURATOR: Grace Wang An art curator specializing in artistic exploration and curatorial practice within spatial contexts. She holds a Bachelor's...

    CURATOR: Grace Wang

     

    An art curator specializing in artistic exploration and curatorial practice within spatial contexts. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Architecture from Renmin University of China and a Master's degree in Interior and Spatial Design from Chelsea College of Arts, University of the Arts London.
     
    With a strong foundation in architecture and spatial studies, she is committed to constructing spatial narratives through curatorial practice, provoking in-depth artistic reflection. Her curatorial focus lies in the interactive relationships between space itself, artistic intervention, and public experience, interpreting and presenting contemporary art issues through a unique spatial perspective. In her practice across art curation, spatial installation, interior design, and branding, she advocates an inclusive and eclectic approach, respecting the inherent character of space, honoring natural forces, and returning to essential thinking. Her aim is to explore, within the temporal dimension of the present, the most authentic state of life and aesthetic expressions emerging from the intersection of space and art.

  • Sun Ruixiang, Quiet Days Series, 2025. Courtesy of the artist.

  • Sun Ruixiang, Quiet Days Series, 2025. Courtesy of the artist.

  • Sun Ruixiang, Quiet Days Series, 2025. Courtesy of the artist.

  • Sun Ruixiang, Quiet Days Series, 2025. Courtesy of the artist.

  • Sun Ruixiang, Quiet Days Series, 2025. Courtesy of the artist.

  • Sun Ruixiang, Quiet Days Series, 2025. Courtesy of the artist.

     

  • About SIGMA

     

    Since its establishment in Japan in 1961, SIGMA has been focusing on optical manufacturing with imaging at its base. Imaging is inseparable from photographic tools. Every time the shutter is pressed, whether it be a moment of excitement or calm contemplation, it is the creator's choice and depiction of time. SIGMA is excited to become the partner chosen in these important moments, accompanying creators to experience the joy and happiness brought by the art of imaging. Adhering to this concept, SIGMA has always insisted on high technology as its goal, providing innovative products and services, including the highly acclaimed SIGMA GLOBAL VISION series, full-frame mirrorless cameras BF, fp and fp L series, the world's unique three-layer sensor "Foveon X3", etc., to provide more users with more personalized choices in various artistic creations.