Qi Xing

Shang Liang and Wang Yanyun are women in this lifetime.

I have always felt that women are more advanced beings than men. Women tend to have richer and more delicate sensory capabilities, stronger and more accurate intuition. All this is determined by the female body.

These new paintings by Shang Liang are crisp, the brushstrokes and colors are pure, leaving a lighthearted impression. The context of these new works are borrowed from “The Adventures of Pinocchio”, an Italian fairytale. A puppet must learn honesty, bravery, and kindness, in order to obtain real life. The moral exhortation of the story is developing children into “better” people through altering natural instincts. This tale shows the two faces of human nature, the bad side or animal instincts, self-serving natural survival instincts; and the good side or the positive will, the possibility of regulating human behavior through culture.

Shang Liang’s paintings are about the human body. The main figure in the painting has grown a long nose just like the lying Pinocchio. He also has large muscles disproportionate with his slender body frame. This is psychological projection onto the body and imagining of body transformations. People often use deception and illusion to obtain “happiness”. In Shang Liang’s paintings, the juxtaposition of deception and illusion displays a double negative, which ironically reveal a certain honesty.

Years ago, Wang Yanyun was known for a series of works created as “Su Zizi”. In recent years, she has done some exhibitions, published a few written works, and taken part in the TV shows. These are her ways of earning a living, and also ways of emotional release. This exhibition has selected photography from her “Su Zizi” period, edited videos of her on the TV show “I Am Speaker – Who Am I”, and a new piece of work. These are years of records of her life, her art, or her artistic life. Perhaps it is not necessary to distinguish the boundary between art and life, or the difference between entertainment and creating art, more important things are the values within all of these. Wang’s experiences or records reflect the values she has chosen. She continues to convey her values and beliefs, such as demands for fairness and justice as well as hopes of building a rational society, through artistic means.

I would want to see introspective works, about feelings and emotions. Humans as independent beings need to care for our inner selves and our own deepest emotions, and it is easy to be annoyed with too much talk about reason. I would also want to see works of extrospection, forms of rational communication or persuasion. We as social beings are self-serving, but also need to be altruistic, in order to create a better living environment for all of us. These works are the artists’ expressions of sense and sensibility based on the female body. This exhibition is both emotionally sensitive and rationally sensible.

商亮和王嫣芸在这一世都是女儿身。

一直认为女人相较于男人是更高一级的物种，她们有着更丰富且更加细腻的感知能力，也有更强烈和更准确的直觉。这是由女性身体决定的。

商亮的新作比她之前的作品更加简洁，用笔与用色都更单纯，让人看着轻松。这些新作的内容，借用了《木偶奇遇记》的典故，一则意大利童话。一只木偶为了获得生命，要去学习诚实，勇敢，勤奋，以及关心他人。这是一则道德劝诫的故事。通过对于自然天性的改造，使孩子成为一个“更好”的人。这则故事道出了人性的双重面向，人性有着与生俱来的恶，或曰动物性，一种趋利避害的本能；人性也有着利他性，或曰向阳性，人类行为有着被文化制约的可能。

商亮的画作跟身体有关，画面里的主人公像说谎后的匹诺曹一样，也长出了长长的鼻子，还有着与原本瘦弱的身体并不相称的强壮肌肉。这是心理对身体的投射，也是幻想对身体的改造。人时常会通过谎言和幻想让自己获得“幸福”。但在商亮的这些画作中，谎言与幻想并置呈现出了双重否定的意味，倒是透出了一种诚实。

多年前，王嫣芸以名为“苏紫紫”的系列作品为人所知。这些年，她做过些展览，出版过一些文字，也录制过一些电视节目。这是她的谋生手段，也是排遣情绪的方式。这次展览选取了她在“苏紫紫”时期的一些摄影作品，还有她录制《我是演说家》之《我是谁》的删减版视频，以及一件新作。这些都是她多年来的生活记录，是艺术，或是艺术化的。也许不必刻意的划分艺术与生活的界限，娱乐节目与艺术创作的区别。我更在意这些东西背后的价值取向。王嫣芸的这些经历或记录的背后都有着她在价值观上的选取。她一直在通过行为的，艺术的方式传达着她所坚持的这些价值与理念。这其中有着强烈的对于公平正义的诉求，也有对建构一个理性社会的期许。

我会愿意看到内向的作品，这些作品跟情感或情绪有关，人作为独立的个体，需要关照自己的内心，有时候，道理说多了听多了，都会烦；我也愿意看到外向的作品，它用理性去沟通，是一种非情感绑架式的说服方式。人作为群居类的物种，利己利他，才能有一个更好的生存环境。在这个展览中，这些作品都是两位艺术家基于女性身体的理智与情感，而作出的表达。这是一个通情达理的展览。

齐星