©Psychologies China. picture direction & style: chin-chin wu; photography: mo jingyi; paper cut: hong xue; origami: guangdong paper studio model: zhang xue; wear: vega zaishi wang & alexander mcqueen

As you may or may not know, I’ve been deeply immersed in the study of the evolution of human consciousness as timed by the Mayan Calendar: yes humanity is on the cusp of a new era; yes the planet is in the midst of a tremendous consciousness shift. Most of all, we get the chance to turn the page and start things afresh at this opportune moment of the year.  Whatever hopes and wishes you hold for the year 2012, may you be the magnificent creator of your most cherished of your dreams.

Life is short, break all the rules, forgive quickly, love fearlessly, laugh uncontrollably, exercise vigorously, and never regret anything that has put a smile on your face.

Thank you for being a friend and an inspiration. Happy New Year!

Warmest greetings from Beijing,
Chin-Chin Wu | 吴沁沁

I have received these images as Season’s Greeting, Courtesy of Mark Pearson, owner of Zen Foto Gallery, who organized my duo exhibition with Araki-san last year. I’m glad that Araki-san had understood the series perfectly. Artforum writer Julia Friedman reviewed the show as such, that “Wu’s photographs were almost ‘chaste’ next to Araki’s.” I personally think that besides the obvious wetness that suggests the proximity to sexual act itself, each photograph of his felt like a large vaginal vortex, sucking the viewer into a terrifying abyss. Such is the irresistible power of an Araki image.  Below are some photographs of the show that I attended at Taka Ishii Gallery in 2010, in respect to the great master:

此次入选作品超越性别界限，又保持着心灵的独立。《ABOUT》是贺麟雯献给自己一份20岁的记忆。这位年轻的摄影师以穿行和隧道为主体，表达了当代青年一种自身的不确定感，前进或倒退，似乎都站在相同的路径。周玥的《以梦为马》，在一种似是迂回曲折的印记中呈现出亦梦亦实的合璧感，很脱俗。黑色的小马，斑驳的指纹，女孩的微笑，仿佛提醒了辽远又孤零的少年梦。而《对视：新女性肖像》中对于女性身体坦诚直白的正视，又是如此天经地义。曾与荒木经惟等大师联展过该系列作品的艺术家吴沁沁，其镜头叙事风格揉合了阳刚与阴柔，粗犷与温婉，令人难以置信她坚持探索一些永恒但颇具争议的课题，震撼却又如此适切。《都市哪吒》带来一种奇幻梦游般的阅读感，一张张独特的肖像，诉说着暗夜之中年轻人无声的表达，凝视着我们看不到的东西。作者沈怡亦将与作品同名的剪辑视屏带进画廊，结合实验电子乐，让观众以深刻又简单的方式去体会作品的内涵。高媛女士的《12个月亮》，其创作受到西方教堂中圣母与圣婴雕塑的启发，只是她以北京外来民工的妻与子为关注对象。这个安排意味深远，画面中每一位母亲所表现出的非城市气质是如此地鲜明，以致于在她们略显笨拙的形象与西方肖像画成熟、优雅的形式之间产生了一种独特的张力。高媛以略带仰视的角度，极低的地平线、大片的天空的构图形式，赋予她们以尊严与力量。

展览期间，参展的多位女摄影师还将在AFTERGLOW画廊举办作品的艺术解析沙龙并探讨一些有趣的女性话题。AFTERGLOW画廊是一个以艺术展览、时尚下午茶为基础的融合式文化交流平台，在这样的艺术休闲空间里，我们还将定期举办各种类型的艺术沙龙、讲座、观影活动等。

Curated By: Betsy Odom

OPENING RECEPTION with curator and artists: November 11, 2010, 5-8pm

OPENING NIGHT PROGRAMMING
Artist Performances
Indoor 5k, run with Mary George, 4:30-6:30pm. (To join the 5k, meet the artist and get your numbered race bibs in the lobby of 1104 S Wabash from 4:30-5:00.)
I Will Always Love You, interactive performance by Allison Halter, 5:30pm
Accompanying Lecture
“Crossing the Line: Genre & Identity”, a reading and lecture by award-winning author Dorothy Allison, 7:30pm in the Conaway Center adjacent to the Glass Curtain Gallery

Tomboy examines the degrees to which identity and gender influence meaning in the work of six contemporary queer women artists. From painterly gestures to performative acts, sculptural installations to digitally altered photographs, this exhibition explores the variety of approaches artists take in negotiating notions of identity. These works turn away from the essentialism of early feminist art and the specificity of “identity art,” and instead employ identity in intentionally ambiguous, mercurial, and peripheral ways. Tomboy delves into the murky spaces between the personal, the political, and the formal in order to ask viewers the question: “can and should what we know about an artist be separated from how we experience their work?”

Participating Artists: Kelli Connell, Dana DeGiulio, Daphne Fitzpatrick, Mary George, Allison Halter, Leeza Meksin

In front of Beijing #13, in none other than the 798 Art District in Beijing, the 5th most touristy destination in Beijing. The show is on until Nov 15th, Aura Gallery, 798 Art District, Beijing.

 

Posing in artist 张朝晖 (ZHANG Zhaohui)’s art installation, You and I, with Ben.

There are 5 life-size prints from the series Vis-à-vis: Portraits of New Women on show at Aura Gallery （798）this Saturday. The show is called “Love and Punishment.” As you may know, this series is very hard to see in Asia. So if you have time, come take a look. Opening starts at 3 pm, and I hope to see you there:)

大家好，

这个周六亦安画廊将展出 “对视：新女性肖像“中的五幅原作。展览命名为”爱与罪”。这是在中国大陆第一次展出这个系列，机会难得，欢迎大家来参观。开幕式下午三点开始。

Warm regards,
鸣谢！
Chin-Chin Wu | 吴沁沁

爱与罚

love and punishment

开幕时间opening：2010年10月16日 oct. 16 3-6 pm

展览时间date：2010年10月16日 –11月15日 oct. 16 - nov.15

艺术家artists：罗荃木luo quanmu、付羽fu yu、刘丽勇liu liyong、王孟飞wang mengfei、李子沣li zifeng、 吴沁沁chin-chin wu、黄静远wang jingyuan、尹朝阳yin chaoyang、瞿广慈qu guangci、 罗杰拜伦roger ballen、荒木经惟araki nobuyoshi、森山大道daido moriyama、伊藤一洋kazuhiro ito、草井裕子yuko soi

亦安画廊

aura gallery

北京市朝陽區酒仙橋路2號大山子798藝術區798東街
798 east street no.2 jiuxianqiao rd., chaoyang district, beijing, china 100015  t/f.(86 10)59789280 
beijing@auragallery.net aura@aura-art.com
www.aura-art.com

To celebrate two events Zen Foto will hold closing drinks from 4pm this afternoon:

1.       the closing of our exhibition “A. Face to Face with Chin-Chin Wu” of works by Chin-Chin Wu and Nobuyoshi Araki;

2.       from the Tokyo Customs Bureau we received a charge of importing material “that could damage public decency” (風俗を害する物品). This relates to our little catalogue of Chin-Chin Wu`s works - why don`t you come and decide for yourself? We value your opinions!

kind regards,

Mark Pearson

Zen Foto Gallery, shibuya, Tokyo

www.zen-foto.jp

In front of Araki’s images © Benjamin Beller (please beware of important perspective distortions)

Finally a brief review of the show by art historian, Art Forum contributor and Waseda University assistant professor Julia Friedman, taken from the blog Contemporary Art Tokyo:

This is the first Tokyo exhibition of the Beijing-based artist Chin-Chin Wu. It features her 2006–2009 project Vis-à -Vis, Portraits of New Women, in which fifty young women from Paris and Beijing posed for their “intimate portraits.” Upon entering the gallery, the viewers are invited to gaze into an aperture in a red lacquered peep-box installed just high enough making it necessary for all under seven feet tall to stand on a small wooden stool. The voyeristic effort is rewarded with a tiny illuminated image set against the back wall of the box. This quick throw back to Marcel Duchamp’s in/famous Etant Donnés, seems to address the elephant-in-the-room inherent in any art featuring female genitalia. Wu questions the inherently voyeuristic nature of viewing nudity just as she asserts the agency of the woman who participated in the Vis-à-Vis shoots by engaging them in a dialogue about the meaning of these portraits. Many of their utterances are featured in the making-of video that is also part of the show. Wu’s photographs are further contextualized by a selection of ten silver gelatin prints by Nobuyoshi Araki, hung in two tight rows. Araki’s work makes for an interesting juxtoposition with Wu’s, in my opinion, because it accentuates the raw sexuality of his work. Next to his, Wu’s photographs, for all their overtness, appear almost chaste: the viewers of her portraits do not need to worry about participating in the predatory visual act, her focus is the aesthetic differentiation.

There are eight large-format inkjet prints on view, with the rest of the project available for perusal in an eponymous publication by GALERIE VEVAIS (edited by Alexander Scholz). The book will be on sale in about one month in both hardcover and softcover versions. You can find additional information about the publication and see more of Chin-Chin’s works on her webpage.

Due to the graphic nature of the show the gallery had to set a series of deterrents for visitors that might seek things other than art enjoyment. If you decide to visit the exhibition (you have to be over 20 years of age), please make an email reservation with the gallery (amanda@zen-foto.jp). When you arrive you will be asked to sign a waver stating that you do not find the contents offensive, and pay an exhibition membership fee of 3000 yen. Once inside you will have your pick of Zen Foto publication to the value of the fee. The show is at Zen Foto Gallery, on view through May 23.

This is the legendary Shinjuku of Noboyoshi Araki and Daido Moriyama, the place to find and lose oneself, to love and be alone, to live and die young, to burn burn burn:

Dear Friends, 

皆さんこんにちは。Zen Fotoのご案内をいたします。次の展覧会 ”A. Face 2 Face with Wu Chin-Chin” が５月14日から始まります。オープニングパーティは同日18:00から21:00で、ウー・チンチンさんも来廊され ます。彼女は中国の若い作家です。アメリカとフランスの教育を受けて、現在北京にお住まいです。今回展示する両氏の作品は ともに女性のポートレートで衝撃的なイメージを含むため、ヌード写真に敏感な方々はご遠慮ください。もしご高覧いただければ一生忘れ られない展覧会になるかと存じます。

なお、今回の展覧会では通常と異なり作品の性質から展覧会の会費を頂戴します が、展覧会場にて会費に相当するZen Fotoの出版物をお渡ししますので、なにとぞご了承ください。

Our next exhibition is titled: “A. Face 2 Face with Chin-Chin Wu ”. We will exhibit the works of Nobuyoshi Araki face to face with the works of a young Chinese photographer. Chin-Chin Wu was educated in the USA and Paris and she is now based in Beijing. Zen Foto is pleased to hold this first major exhibition of her series of intimate portraits of women, entitled “Vis-a-vis: Portraits of New Women.”

The content is not suitable for people under the age of 20 or for those sensitive to explicit images of the naked human body.

We do not normally charge for entrance to Zen Foto but, due to the nature of the images included, we will invite visitors to become members of this exhibition. Visitors will be given Zen Foto publications of value equivalent to the price of membership. In case of hardship please let us know and we will happily make exceptions where appropriate.

Kind regards,

Mark Pearson

Zen Foto Gallery, Shibuya, Tokyo

www.zen-foto.jp

The back bear:

Innen - The Inside:

Special thanks to Alexander Scholtz from Berlin, gifted architect and my book publisher, and Susanne Weigelt, an amazing young designer and artist from Leipzig. The dummies of this book will be available for the duo show with Araki-san in Tokyo, opening May 14. Entry strictly by prior reservation. A small catalog for the exhibition will be available in limited editions. A big ‘thank you’ to all the great women who participated in this project. I will have a gift copy for each of you!

http://www.robertbermangallery.com/robertbermangallery/exhibitions/nudeshow/selected_nude.htm 

A Group exhibition exploring the imagery of the nude form including works by

Robert Graham, Ruth Bernhard, Horst P. Horst, Man Ray, Joel Peter Witkin, Francesco Scavullo, Chin-Chin Wu, Sante D’Orazio, Raymond Pettibon, The Mac, John Altoon, Ben Talbert, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Frederick Wight, William Tunberg, Ralph Goings, Stephen Verona, John Colao, Ron English, Manuel Ocampo, Jorg Dubin, Ellwood T. Risk, Britt Ehringer, Eliza French & Jeff Charbonneau, Robert Sean Coons, Dennis Mukai, David Trulli, Greg Gibbs, Andrew George, Vic Huber, Rafael Serrano, Jon Cournoyer, Sally Mann, Jock Sturges, Marc Fichou, Ken Aronson, Brett Aronson, Steven Teitelbaum, Randal Haworth, Tiphaine Popesco, Eric Schwartz,Hana Jakrlova, Christina Lissmann, David Ellingsen, Bill Durgin, Toby Burrows, Bill Phelps, Gail Greenfield Randall, Irene Hardwicke Olivieri, Edouard Chimot, Max Turner, Emil Jean Kosta Jr., Mel Ramos, Alejandro Gehry, Thomas Ruff, Nobuyoshi Araki, Tracy Nakayama, Tracey Emin, Vanessa Beecroft, Tom Wesselmann, John Valadez, Frank Romero, Claudia Kunin, Grace Oh and many more.

In conjunction with the MOPLA Month of Photography Awards & XTO Image Awards

Nobuyoshi Araki
Untitled (Nude in front of TV), 1996
Iris Print
Numbered 22/30, Signed and numbered on verso
Image: 8.5 x 12 inches; Framed: 18.5 x 21.5 inches

I’m showing a small series of 15 images called “Flashbacks” in this group show at Inter Gallery, 798 Art District. This exhibition will then move to Shanghai, then travel around the rest of China.

Here’s a sneak preview of a few images that caught my interest:

王久良的《垃圾围城》系列
From the series “The Great Wall of Trash,” © WANG, Jiuliang

许宝宽的《新风景》系列
From the series “New Landscapes,” © XU, Baokuan

杭鸣峙的《移山》系列
From the series “Move Mountains,” © HANG, Mingchi

蒙超的《新景观》系列
From the series “New Scenaries,” © MENG, Chao

游莉的《寂静的纬度》系列
From the series “Silent Altitudes,” © YOU, Li

Looking forward to seeing friends in Beijing at the opening! © Post-Modern China Doll

不一样的风景

Another Landscape

主办：色影无忌网

Host：www.xitek.com

参展摄影师: （按 姓氏笔画排名）王久良、卢彦鹏、区志航、任曙林、许宝宽、陈焕庭、何宜昌、吴沁沁、辛冈、张晓、杭鸣峙、佬京、罗凯星、徐永春、黄 觉、矫健、储楚、塔可、蒙超、游莉、潘钺。

photographers: Wang Jiuliang, Lu Yanpeng, Ou Zhihang ,Ren Shulin, Xu Baokuan，Chen Huanting, He Yichang，Chin-Chin Wu，Xin Gang，Zhang Xiao，Hang Mingzhi，Lao Jing，Luo Kaixing，Xu Yongchun，Huang Jue，Jiao Jian，Chu Chu，Taca，Meng Chao，Eris Yo ，Pan Yue

策展人：那日松

Curator：Na Risong

顾问：（按姓氏笔画 排名）任悦、林路、尚陆、顾铮、鲍昆、颜长江

Consultants :Ren Yue, Lin Lu, Jean Loh, Gu Zheng, Bao Kun, Yan Changjiang 

开幕时间:  2010.03.27  下午3点

Opening:  27.03.2010 / 3 pm

展览时间:  2010.03.27 – 2010.04.5

Duration:  27.03.2010 – 05.04.2010

展览地点:  映艺术中心（北京市朝阳区酒仙桥路4号“798艺术区”七星中街）.

Venue:  Inter Art Center and Gallery. Sevenstar Main Street 798 Art Zone No.4 Jiuxianqiao Road Chaoyang District Beijing

Bravo Robert!!! Source: http://www.juxtapoz.com/Top100

Tian Tian is a white Turkish Angora adopted from Maya’s friend Cindy. At the time that I was there, she had over a dozen cats at her residence. Tian Tian was previously known as Baby Mama, as she was found very small and pregnant near 798. She gave a healthy litter of 4 in August 2009. I adopted her on Jan 12, 2010. Because she’s so smart and psychic, she was named the Genius Cat (天才猫), Tian Tian for short. She is also a class A clown and follows me EVERYWHERE.

Legend has it that the Turkish Angora was Prophet Mohammed’s favorite cat. One time, he cut off the sleeve of his coat so as to not wake his beautiful Angora sleeping on his coat. What a beautiful act of symbolism for world peace!

Hailing from her favorite basket! Note the green cast/ring around
her pupils that give her eyes such an unusual look.

New toy!

When she is not sleeping or making trouble, she enjoys chasing strings to hone her mouth-catching skills, especially the types of strings with this type of white mouth stapled at the end. She’s only minimally interested in human food (foie gras, but only when it’s put on her plate). Otherwise, she eats Royal Canin Dry cat food exclusively. In order of preference: 1) Royal Canin Oral Sensitive 30 2) Royal Canin Shiny Coat and Skin 3) Neutered Cat Stone and Weight. I am thinking of putting her on the Persian Cat diet, because she’s got so much hairball problems. Her other favorite munch is cat grass:)

Tian Tian 天天 is my art director. She oversees all my designs and concepts, and types on the keyboard: 1 is “affirmative,” 0 is “negative,” anything else is “keep working.” Mostly, she’s been keeping me hard at work. Recently, I put her basket on my desk so as to confine her to a small area, and now she only types messages on my keyboard when she really needs to express herself. She is definitely a very expressive cat if ever there was one!

Love and peace,
Chin-Chin
沁沁