VIP:11.12 – 13,12:00 – 21:00
Fair:11.14 – 16,12:00 – 19:00
Venue:Baptist Publication Building, No.209 Yuan Ming Yuan Road, ROCKBUND, Shanghai
Artist:Bi Rongrong
Title of exhibition:Manchester CMYK
Booth:CB 2-07
Installation View:
Part of Works:
Artist Statement:
Manchester CMYK
-My Three Months Residencyin Manchester
Birongrong
August 2-November 2, 2014
BeforeI came to Manchester, I had just done two large-scaled site-specific pieces,which were based on my practice of drawing. The residency in CFCCA(Centre ForChinese Contemporary Art) has given me a great environment to develop my drawingpractice. For me, drawing is thebasis, or the beginning, of my works. It could extend to be a painting, aspatial installation, a digital piece, or other forms of work.
Taking residency in a studio located at the centre of thecity, allows me to easily to see what is going on in the city. I liketo see the posters, prints, graffiti in the shops or on the streets, which hasoffered me lots of inspiration for my own work. In my few recent drawings,I have worked from my photos of the poster walls at the outside of Islingtonmill(artists studio area), and some graffiti in the Northern Quarter area. The poster wallsfrom Islington mill is like the collages of the time. By the years,different artists have pasted posters or painted artwork on the walls,then these are torn down, and pasted or painted over again. The conscious andunconscious layers put together is, for me, the same as the process of makingdrawings. By the inspiration, I have re-composed and re-collaged the images Icollected, which brought me a fresh and enjoyable process to make drawings.
Three months ago, when I had just arrivedLondon from Shanghai, Tate Modern was the very first place I visited. I wasquite impressed by the exhibition of “Henri Matisse: The Cut-Outs”. I think mythree months residency trip started with the encouragement I found from histremendous scissor-made drawings! During the three months, I also spent quitesome time visiting beautiful English landscapes and some exhibitions indifferent cities. Everything I experience here is put into my mind and startsto become a massive piece of “cut-outs” drawing. I think my current drawingsare still at the beginning of the process. I will bring this process back toShanghai, continue and keep expanding the whole process.