The images from Part I: “Landplay” depict local villagers from Guizhou province acting out traditional characters from the Chinese historical Dixi Opera, meaning Earth Opera or Open-Air Opera. In these traditional performances, local villagers and farmers perform not on stage, but occupy vacant land near a village while the audience watches nearby. Still performed today, Dixi Opera is considered to be one of the oldest operas in the world, and is said to be the “living fossil of opera art”. Part III: “Mulian Opera”, photographed in Hunan Province, illustrates the characters in this operatic troupe performing the legendary story of Mulian, who journeys through the trials and tribulations of purgatory in order to save his condemned mother. Dating back to the Tang Dynasty, Mulian Opera illustrates aspects of ancient society while also incorporating acrobatics and mythological religious lore.
In contrast, Part II: "Cosplay" and Part IV: "World of Warcraft" document the modern versions of costume-based entertainment. Cosplay originated in Japan as a role-play game based on manga and anime characters, while "World of Warcraft" is currently the most popular online virtual role-player fantasy game with some 10 million global online subscribers. As juxtapositions to Part I and Part III (Landplay and Mulian Opera) the "Cosplay" and "World of Warcraft" series of photographs are illustrations of modern-day avatars interconnected in a global popular culture beyond a specific time or local tradition. At the same time when viewing all 4 series of characters in role play, we realize there is a timeless desire of these performers to slip out of ordinary existence and embody other identities in a fantastic alternate reality. A direct reference to the book of the same title by sinologist Philip Kuhn, "Soul Stealer" is an invocation to the souls and spirits that come to play in all these timeless performances. It is also perhaps a lament for the erosion of the "soul" of ancient China, whose culture and traditions are left in the hands of the old generations while the young rush to urban metropolises awash in the latest trends of current global popular culture.
A multi-layered experience, these photographs create a combination of elements that allow us to “probe into the relationship between the past, present, and the future on various levels,” say the artists. The viewer is free to transport into the performer, the historical reference, and into a personal journey. “What we have done is to combine all of the above into one picture, and create a magical image mixed with time, humanity, society, culture, nature and the mysterious after-world by way of photography.”
By using photography as a portal to another dimension, Zeng and Yang steal a glimpse of the soul of someone from another place and time, while documenting each character’s personal transformation. For them, this body of work allows a platform where “time becomes mingled and under such conditions, ancient spirits can gather together from all different times, where the performers in these monumental characters find themselves being transformed into an invented being or spirit of heroic proportions.”
ZENG Han, having originally lived and worked in Guangzhou, is currently studying at the School of Visual Arts in New York. Yang Changhong lives and works in Shenzhen. The “Soul Stealer” full-color book is available from m97 Gallery. To order, please contact m97 Gallery at info@m97gallery.com.
For additional information, please contact m97 Gallery at: info@m97gallery.com or by phone: (+8621) 6266.1597. Tuesday-Sunday 11am-7pm (Monday by appointment only).
上海m97画廊将于2008年9月6日至10月22日展出曾翰和杨长虹最近完成的《叫魂》四个部分的摄影作品。《叫魂》影像系列旨在通戏剧化的扮演者和场景，为观看者展现了一个正在日益全球化的中国在人文与环境，现实与虚幻，当今与未来多层次的内在关联。
组照的四个部分分别在安顺贵州《地戏》，广东深圳 《Cosplay》，邵阳湖南《目连戏》和重庆地区的《磨兽世界》拍摄完成。
作品的部分灵感来源于中国的一个古老剧种——地戏。地戏作为一种传统的娱乐表现方式从唐代至明代流传至今，带着面具的表演者们不在戏台上而是在空地上表演，观众们就围在那片空地外观看。地戏也是世界上最古老的剧种之一，被称为“中国戏剧活化石”，表演内容主要取材于历史演义或民间传说。而在摄影师的镜头诠释下，那些身着戏服和面具的的演员们仿佛与穿越了时空而来的远古灵魂融为一体，于是一个特殊的世界就透过古老的地戏艺术和摄影师的视角被投射到了真实当今自然环境之中。
艺术家说，这些摄影作品能令人“多层面地去探索当今和未来的联系”。观者可以很容易地被引入一场对人物、对历史的感观之旅中。艺术家只是将真实的人、物和环境重新组合在一个画面之内，用摄影方式制造出一个融合时间、人性、社会、文化、自然以及不可言说的灵界的图片。
借助于摄影这一艺术媒介，令曾翰和杨长虹有机会对其它时空的灵魂有了惊鸿一瞥，也成为了他们探索“时间交错”的一个平台，“而且在这样的场景之中，从各个时空游弋而来的远古灵魂会令表演者感觉自己也成为了一个演义中英雄式的人物。”
曾翰现在居住和工作在广州，杨长虹现居住和工作在深圳。m97届时会提供《叫魂》系列的彩页书册，如有意订购，请发邮件至m97画廊 info@m97gallery.com。
如果您需要更多相关摄影作品，约见或者其他媒体需要，请联系m97画廊: 请电邮至： info@m97gallery.com 或者 电话至(+8621) 6266.1597. 开放时间：星期二到星期天 上午10:30 - 下午18:30
