Festivals
LIANZHOU FOTO FESTIVAL – Lianzhou, Province du Guangdong, Chine
As Entertaining As Possible
Wang Chunchen
The central theme of this year’s Lianzhou Foto Festival, “As Entertaining As Possible”, is seemingly as playful to our ears as a sametitled song by a Taiwanese singer. Nevertheless, if the context of this phrase was not understood correctly, it would not be possible to grasp its true meaning. Just as its counterpart in music where passionate voices are openly expressed with great affection to the listeners, in the realm of photography it signifies the extremity to which the significance and essence of the art form shall be taken. Going yet another step further, it leads us to the outlandish state of consumerism which has become one of the most prevalent social values in our society today. This is indeed the kind of real-life issues that demand serious attention and consideration from all of us.
This year’s theme is intended to be a play on the everyday absurdities of our consumerist society, where the expressiveness of one’s excessive desire has reached an unprecedented height. The country of France, being the birthplace of photography, is also where such social phenomenon is often being criticized and reflected upon. It’s not a coincidence that we are putting these two subject matters together, as we remind ourselves through the essential function of photography what appropriate attitudes and positions shall be held towards a modern world vastly driven by principles of consumption.
Naturally, the invention of photography was to reveal and reflect the world in the most truthful manner, as human beings could not be permanently separated from the world to which they belong. In order to reflect the world to the most accurate extent as possible, our ancestors had constantly strived to come up with creative tools that would help us better understand the world we live in. This in turn has greatly facilitated the self-affirmation of our modern society. As a matter of fact, technological advances have indeed been one of the most important factors behind the recent development of modern society, and our ways of living and relationship
with each other have also evolved significantly along the way. Undoubtedly, our society has transformed to become more civilized than ever before, but at the same time, what is undeniable is that it has also morphed into a complex social system that takes away significant amount of resources from Mother Nature.
As modern civilization is constantly taking great strides forward, it’s also repeatedly self-doubting and questioning itself at the same time. This type of critical reflections is continually evolving and strengthening from generation to generation. Without the social movements and revolutions against capitalism in the 19th century, the development of modern society would have gone on a completely different route. It’s precisely our ability to self-reflect and sense of consciousness that allow our society to progress through such ideological heritage. In the 1920s, there was Walter Benjamin and his reflection of the age of mechanical reproduction; in the 60s Guy Debord and his criticism of the “Society of the Spectacle”; then in the 70s and 80s Jean Baudrillard came up with the idea of “consumer society” and extended his criticism through the theory of “simulacra and simulation”; and now Jacques Rancière and his association of image with society. All these ideas and theories have together formed a continuous train of thought that extends till today.
Since the beginning of modernization, numerous ideological peaks have been reached over abstruse forests of ideas and philosophies. The title “As Entertaining As Possible”, as an appropriation of language, points to the aforementioned paradox of consumerism that continues to exist in our society today. The viewers shall make no mistake in recognizing this point when they look at some of the works of invited artists that are exhibited at this year’s festival. These works are intended to reveal the inner conflicts and contradictions behind the spectacles that are on display. The liveliness and flamboyance that these images exhibit on the surface do not really speak truth about their essence, but rather serve as a visual representation of what is being pursued in our society today. The effulgence and splendor under the artists’ lenses have the ability to take the viewers to an intellectual space that is far beyond their visual perception. What are being presented in front of us are not simply beautiful images, but a universal psychological urgency and a tension of desire. By conveying the seriousness of these images to the viewers, the artists have effectively created a dialogue between the world and themselves. On the other hand, the photographic works on their own have also turned into symbols of the world permeated by marks of time. In essence, this is the collective memory of our history that is being permanently frozen.
In the society of the spectacle saturated with the notion of being as entertaining as possible, the art form of photography is situated midway between the realistic fantasy and virtual reality, intertwined by what may seem to be real and unreal. Behind this conception lies the idea of “everywhere is anywhere is everything is anything” that shapes our perception about ourselves and the world that we live in. Beyond photography, this world does not really exist.
Christian Milovanoff (France), “Le Jardin”
Marina Gadonneix (France), “Remote Control”
MM Yu (Philippines), “Waste not, want not”
Maurice Durville (France), “America 60”
Max Siedentopf (Netherlands), “Slapdash supercars” “Funny Money”
Eric Pickersgill (USA), “Removed”
Juno Calypso (UK), “Joyce”
Denis Darzacq (France), “Hyper”
Jean-Luc Cramatte (Switzerland) and Jacob Nzudie (The Republic
of Cameroun), “Supermarket»
Jean-Christian Bourcart (France), “Camden”
Li Zhengde (China), “The New Chinese”
Yuan Tianwen (China), “Real Estate”
Chen Canrong (China), “Empty Room”
Ouyang Shizhong (China), “New Zone – Tuhao Series”
Ni Weihua (China), “Landscape Wall”
Zhang Xiaowu (China), “Rural Recreation”
Geng Yi (China), “Notes on Embroidered Bodies 2011”
Special Exhibition :
Sandro Miller (USA), “Malkovich, Malkovich, Malkovich: Homage
to Photographic Masters”
Group Exhibition :
“The Criteria for Individuals”
Curator: Fan Lin
Feng Yuan (China), “Submarine of Time – Southern Gateway”
Qin Jin (China), “White Foam”
Shang Tun (China), “Yummy Donuts”
Xi Hua (China), “Yoga”
Yang Xiaoman (China), “Lottery”
Dragon Zheng (China), “Air Chrysalis”
“Yet Another Gaze – A New Horizon for Modern
Taiwanese Photography”
Curator: Shen Chao-Liang
Chen Shu-Chen (Taiwan), “After”
Lo Sheng-Wen (Taiwan), “White Bear”
Lee Yeh-Lin (Taiwan), “Listening to the Dark”
Arron Hsiao (Taiwan), “Train Project”
Tou Yun-Fei (Taiwan), “Memento Mori”
Chen I-Hsuen (Taiwan), “Nowhere in Taiwan”
Lee Ya-Yen (Taiwan), “Flash of Whispering”
Chen Po-I (Taiwan), “Remains”
Lee Li-Chung (Taiwan), “Space out”
Huang Chien-Hua (Taiwan), “Transcoder”
Solo Exhibition :
Du Zi (China), Land Fill
Wang Yuanling (China), “Hello Hualongqiao”
Debi Cornwall (USA), “Welcome to Camp America”
Akiko Takizawa (Japan), “Nocturnal Grievance”
Yusuke Yamatani (Japan), “Rama Lama Ding Dong”
Eriko Koga (Japan), “Tryadhvan”
Fu Meng (China), “Between”
Yang Yuanyuan (China), “At the Place of Crossed Sights”
Lam Pok Yin, Jeff (Hong Kong) & Chong Ng (Singapore), “The Untimely
Apparatus of Two Amateur Photographers”
Christian Lutz (Switzerland), “Insert Coins”
Tim Parchikov (Russia), “Suspense”
Sergey Chilikov (Russia), “Photoprovocations”
Wang Xiangdong (China), “Man of the Year”
Yosuke Morimoto (Japan), Yoyogipark, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
Miki Hasegawa (Japan), “Quiet…”
Hiroshi Okamoto (Japan), “Recruitment”
Zheng Gangfeng (China), “Aftershock or Butterfly Effect: Wenzhou
Dilemma after 2008”
Li Zhi (China), “Into the Mountains 2014/2016”
Lang Lixing (China), Ice Blink
Li Yidi (China), “Honey Bunny’s Album”
Zhang Xuebo (China): “Babel Tower”
Chen Wenjun & Jiang Yanmei (China), “Me and Me”
Documentary Solo Section:
An Ge (China), “Battlefront of Laoshan”
Li Baijun (China), “The Yellow River Beach”
Huang Liping (China), Floodplain
Historical Photos of Lianzhou
Demande d'informations
