AT ONE WITH NATURE
Edouard Malingue Gallery is currently presenting Zheng Bo's visual arts exhibition ‘Life is hard. Why do we make it so easy?' on view at Hong Kong's Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden. The installation encourages visitors to reflect on the current climate and ecological crises.
Edouard Malingue Gallery is currently presenting Zheng Bo's visual arts exhibition ‘Life is hard. Why do we make it so easy?' on view at Hong Kong's Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden. The installation encourages visitors to reflect and live in harmony with other species for the common good and in coping with the current climate and ecological crises.
Zheng Bo's exhibition, titled ‘Life is hard. Why do we make it so easy?' is inspired by the TED talk ‘Life is easy. Why do we make it so hard?' by Jon Jandai. The artist modifies Jandai's statement and expresses his apprehension about how human beings are making their lives easy at the expense of other species in nature. Through the exhibition, Zheng encourages visitors to reflect and live in harmony with other species for the common good and to address the current climate and ecological crises.
Zheng's work was first presented at the Thailand Biennale Krabi in 2018. At Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden (KFBG), the artist worked with resident ecologist Dr. Stephan Gale, to grow the botanical slogan installation from a selection of local orchid species, which is currently being exhibited at Walter Kerr Gardens of KFBG. Zheng's botanical sketch collection, the creative processes of the exhibition and the information about orchid conservation are also on display at the Art House of KFBG.
Zheng was born in 1974 and grew up in Beijing. After a year of military training, in 1993 he moved to the United States to study computer science and art. Upon returning to Hong Kong, he received an MFA from the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2006, and a PhD in Visual and Cultural Studies from the University of Rochester in 2012, supervised by Douglas Crimp. He taught at the China Academy of Art from 2010 to 2013, and currently teaches at the School of Creative Media, City University of Hong Kong, where he leads the Wanwu Practice Group.
Zheng describes his ongoing socially engaged practice as “new public art”. For him, the artwork takes on the form of social participation, intervention and engagement beyond individual expression. The role of the artist thus becomes an “initiator” and a “catalyst” whose work is based upon his collaboration with people and other species. He considers himself an artist, a writer and a teacher who “is committed to an investigation of the past and an imagination of the future from the perspectives of marginalised communities and plants.”
At the heart of Zheng's practice is the notion of equality. In 2004, he collaborated with migrant workers in Hong Kong to create ‘Happy Meal', in which five Filipino and Indonesian domestic helpers take turns to tell jokes, showcasing their wit beyond their domestic sphere.
The follow-up in 2013, titled ‘Sing for Her', features the Filipino song ‘O Ilaw', performed by a group of domestic helpers in Central, Hong Kong. Alluding to the nation's aspirations for independence, Zheng's rendition prompts reflections on the rights of Hong Kong's Filipino workers, whilst transposing those on the periphery of economic and political realms to the centre of Hong Kong's artistic and cultural narrative.
Rather than a political statement, Zheng's new public art exudes above all a pragmatism that reclaims aesthetics from the narrow confines it is often reduced to.
In recent years Zheng's interest has shifted to a new way of thinking about nature and society. Emerging from his multiple projects about weeds in urban environments is a new discourse around ecology that addresses the semiotics of plants in relation to Asian modernities.
Zheng has worked with a number of museums and art spaces in Asia and Europe, most recently with the Asia Art Archive (Hong Kong), UCCA Dune Art Museum (Qinhuangdao), Villa Vassilieff (Paris), the Ming Contemporary Art Museum (Shanghai), the Sifang Art Museum (Nanjing), and the Hong Kong Museum of Art. In 2019, he participated in the performance programme of the 58th Venice Biennale.
It is perfectly fitting that the location for Zheng's current exhibition is Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden, which is spread over 148 hectares of land on the northern slopes of Tai Mo Shan, Hong Kong's highest mountain, near the town of Tai Po.
KFBG has a deep-set valley between two ridges, with a stream running steeply down throughthe forest. The slopes are home to forests, theme gardens, vegetable terraces, eight kilometres of walking trails, nine kilometres of roads, and conservation and educational facilities.
The Farm was established in 1956 to provide agricultural aid to farmers in need of support to help them lead independent lives; and to provide leisure and educational experience for the public. The theme gardens were designed and planted from the 1960s onwards, and through planting, natural processes and protection from fire, what was once barren scrubland is now mature forest.
KFBG's work and influence now spread far beyond the site. It actively raises awareness of ecological and sustainability issues, undertakes species conservation and ecosystem restoration in Hong Kong and South China, reconnects people with nature, and promotes sustainable lifestyles.
This project is presented by the Hong Kong Arts Development Council and funded by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, JOCKEY CLUB New Arts Power.
Note: In light of the latest COVID-19 situation, the exhibition dates are subject to change. Please check https://www.newartspower.hk/ for the latest updates. The exhibition is currently on view through 25 April, 2021. A valid KFBG admission ticket is required. Please visit https://www.kfbg.org/ for details.