Ocula Report ‘An Opera for Animals’ at Rockbund Art Museum 19 Jul 2019 : Penny Liu for Ocula An Opera for Animals was first staged at Para Site in Hong Kong between 23 March and 2 June 2019, with works by over 48 artists and collectives that use opera as a metaphor for modes of contemporary, cross-disciplinary art-making. The exhibition's second iteration takes up a large portion of the Rockbund Art Museum (RAM) in Shanghai (22 June–25...
Ocula Conversation For three months from 1 June to 1 September 2019, Tai Kwun Contemporary in Hong Kong showcases MURAKAMI vs MURAKAMI, a major survey exhibition of the Japanese artist Takashi Murakami. Curated by Tobias Berger, head of art at Tai Kwun, and Gunnar B Kvaran, director of Astrup Fearnley Museet, Oslo, the exhibition spans the three floors of Tai Kwun's...
Ocula Report Get Up, Stand Up Now: Generations of Black Creative Pioneers at Somerset House 5 Jul 2019 : Jareh Das for Ocula Get Up Stand Up Now: Generations of Black Creative Pioneers at Somerset House in London (12 June–15 September 2019) surveys more than half a century of black creativity in Britain and beyond across the fields of art, film, photography, music, design, fashion, and literature.Curated by Zak Ové, works by approximately 100 intergenerational black...
A Thousand Plateaus Art Space is pleased to present Pattern XI-∞, a solo exhibition of emerging artist Bi Rongrong. Open on June 29, 2019, Pattern XI-∞ will feature her latest works centring on 'patterns'.
Originally inspired by posters and graffiti seen on British streets, the artist then furthered her investigation into the patterns spotted on the exterior walls and interior decorations of ancient architecture in European countries and Middle East, as well as on textiles and articles of everyday use. The patterns, on the one hand, could be deemed as 'skin' of different cities and cultural entities; and on the other, they are also a kind of fragmented records of the artist's life trajectory. As an organic whole, they are somewhat 'de-centralised', unpredictable and yet constantly expanding towards an infinite (∞) 'collective'. Ultimately, it would result into a map-like, or say 'topological', dynamism, which could cast light on the development of the artist's aesthetic vision and life experience during the course of time. Currently, no matter where the patterns are from, collectively they demonstrate a kind of 'eastern' aesthetic influence on European cultures. Such is both the result of the artist's own interest and artistic choices as well as a pleasant surprise that is beyond her expectation.
Through manual or digital processing, Bi Rongrong has transformed the patterns she collected into a variety of mix media works including painting, collage, fabrics, video and installation. Not only has the artist projected her comprehension and imagination of the patterns onto the works, but she has also integrated her memory, insights and experience into them. More importantly, the process features a combination of fragmented 'cultural skin' and individualised 'aesthetic taste'. If 'ego' could only exist in its observation, perception and actions on the world, Bi Rongrong's practice following 'patterns' could be seen as a journey of discovery of 'ego', its interplay with the world as well as the poetry and melancholy scattered along the way.
