Distance: Geraldine Kang, Tomoko Kashiki, Tang Dixin, Bo Wang
Ota Fine Arts Singapore is delighted to present "Distance", a group exhibition by 4 artists from Asia: Geraldine Kang (Singapore), Tomoko Kashiki (Japan), Tang Dixin (China) and Bo Wang (China/USA). How are the physical and psychological distances between the artist, the subject matter and the viewer constructed? This exhibition aims to explore such a question through these artists' works which may appear familiar at once yet foreign on hindsight, at times surreal but also intimate.
Singaporean artist Geraldine Kang's (b. 1988) recent photography series titled "As quietly as rhythms go" (2014) presents the artist's brief but intense encounter with a forest in Sungei Serangoon, Singapore. Kang had witnessed the nascent stages of a land rehabilitation project that was making room for yet another (speculated) plot of industrial blocks. Disturbed by the act of unnaturally removing nature, she photographed the men and machines in the forest, ironically searching for beauty in something she detests. Kang's images are distant, captured from the point of view of a helpless onlooker who has in actual fact not known the forest intimately. This distance reflects upon the constant intervention of man unto nature in order to progress economically and materially.
Kyoto-based artist Tomoko Kashiki (b. 1982) showcases her latest painting. "Untitled" (2017) depicts a boy, whose head and legs are hidden. The artist wrote in Japanese at the bottom part of the work, upside-down: "The boy lying on the ground sees the sky and floats in the air when the sky and the ground are reversed." The dividing line in the centre of the painting and the silver moon are also mysteriously juxtaposed. Often concerned with transcending the boundaries of perception, the artist endeavours to create another dimension of existence through both the visual and textual in this work.
The painting "Blowing White" (2016) by Chinese artist Tang Dixin (b.1982) is one of the highlights of this exhibition. The body is a significant theme in Tang's work. Being actively engaged in performance art as well, Tang draws different shapes of bodies in a series of paintings. In "Blowing White", there appears to be two figures. A mix of blue and orange colour forms a warm background of a landscape, while the foreground depicts waves that add rhythm to the artwork. This strange and surreal tension is a recurring trait in Tang's work, opening up new interpretations of contemporary painting.
"China Concerto" (2012), an essay film by New York-based Chinese artist and filmmaker Bo Wang (b. 1982), shows Wang's reflections toward his native country. In this film, Wang documents scenes of Chongqing when the city was in the peak of Bo Xilai's red campaign (2010 - 2011) which later became known as China's biggest political scandal after 1989. The film shows scenes of public dancing or as Wang puts it, "spectacles", where hundreds of people gather in parks, synchronising to music without any leader. Wang explores the relationship between image consumption, propaganda and social behaviour, and how the regulations of these in China has led to the alienation of modern life, fast-growing capitalism and totalitarianism. Capturing normal life at a glance through the camera lens, Wang dynamically presents political and cultural changes that the country has been undergoing.
Ota Fine Arts invites you to experience the unique viewpoints of these four artists.
