Ma Yongfeng is a Beijing-based artist who has received international recognition for his photographic and video pieces examining the ways that humans position themselves in relation to the natural world. The artist describes his photographic work and video installations as “relating to aspects of animal culture, man-made environments and topographic modelling”. Hosted at the Chinese Art Centre in Manchester for three months and subsequently in residence at ArtSway, Ma Yongfeng has spent a total of five months researching and developing his work.
Ma Yongfeng came to international prominence with his notorious work, Swirl (2003), exhibited at MOCA in Los Angeles, and PS1 in New York in which six coy carp were subjected to a fifteen minute wash cycle in the drum of a washing machine. The work raised a debate about the human treatment of animals both within and outside an artistic context. The artist has continued to explore the relationship between humans and their nature displays, photographing empty dioramas and “natural habitat” enclosures in zoos and museums, and revealing the centrality of humans and their own narratives in these spaces.
During his residency in Manchester, Ma Yongfeng visited numerous zoos and museums and conducted exhaustive research relating to all aspects of Natural History. For his subsequent residency and exhibition at ArtSway the artist has chosen to focus on a significant period in Earth’s history, The Cretaceous Period, after which he has named the exhibition of video works and large-scale photographs. These images examine the cretaceous period in relation to the artist’s continuing research into natural history, animal culture and fossil archaeology alongside his interest in archaeological simulations, geographical models and displays in natural history museums.
Ma Yongfeng’s new work has developed from the photography of animal enclosures and man-made environments to the documentation and recreation of these sites as ‘sets’ in his own studio, as in the work of German photographer Thomas Demand. Ma’s images, however, create what he terms an “installation after an installation”, referencing and refashioning earlier media such as television, stage-production, film set building and installation. Hibernation (2007) depicts a bright chocolate box snow-scene in which one imagines a hiding animal, and the photographic work Volcano (2007) depicts a miniature volcano, complete with authentic looking lava that the artist constructed in his studio in Beijing. This working volcano is also featured in one of two video works in The Cretaceous Period, and comments upon the relationship between artificial environments, natural habitats and aesthetics.
Joel Papps - GOODPASTURE'S
28th July - 16th September 2007
Papps entitled his exhibition Goodpasture’s after Goodpasture’s Syndrome, the illness that caused the artist to spend nearly two months in intensive care in 2000. Since then Papps has explored the medical mapping of the human body and aesthetics of illness, such as microscopic imagery of viruses and diseased
tissue. Abstracting these images, Papps works with pared down materials, creating sculptural works that are reminiscent of theatrical stage-sets, casting a delicate play of light and shadows. These intriguing images create a tension caught between the appeal of the objects themselves and the frightening diseases that they portray. Joel Papps graduated from Winchester School of Art in 2005 and is currently based in Hampshire.
The ArtSway annual Open attracts hundreds of entries every year. The winner is given a solo exhibition at ArtSway, as well as professional development advice and marketing from ArtSway staff. The competition gives emerging artists support at a crucial stage in their career. Joel Papps was the winner of ArtSway Open06 for his entry, ‘Dukes C’, a wooden sculptural drawing that referenced a colon in the final stages of bowel cancer.
Details of ArtSway Open07 will be announced in the coming weeks.
Nathaniel Mellors' ad-hoc sculpture, psychedelic theatre and absurdist, satirical film target the question of who controls language. For ArtSway (and the Biennale d'Art Contemporain de Lyon) he is creating a new film-installation in which the central character, 'The Time Surgeon', inflicts physical torture upon a tape machine to induce time travel.
ArtSway's annual open submission exhibition, featuring the shortlist of entries selected by the 2007 judging panel from hundreds of entries. The winner, announced in 2008 receives a solo exhibition at ArtSway.
The Gallery is open from Tuesday to Sunday 11am - 5pm, Admission FREE
ArtSway is a unique place in the UK’s New Forest to see, discuss, make and engage with significant contemporary visual art from the local to the international. A purpose-built and architecturally important gallery space hosts a changing programme of exhibitions and wide ranging creative opportunities for all.
To receive regular updates on ArtSway exhibitions, activities and events send a blank email to: information-join@artsway.org.uk
ArtSway is funded by Arts Council England, New Forest District Council, Hampshire County Council and Esmee Fairbairn Foundation
