《雪白的鸽子》
胡尹萍
2018.08.18 – 10.05箭厂空间在此荣幸地展出《雪白的鸽子》,此展系艺术家胡尹萍作品《小芳》(2016)之续篇。在《小芳》中,胡尹萍让朋 友“小芳”以帽子经纪人的名义,高于市场的价格收购了她母亲大量稀奇古怪的帽子。从那时起,这个“毛线球式”的 项目在持续缠绕中不断成长。胡妈妈的好运一经传开,镇里的女士们开始陆续参与,逐渐从一位编织者发展成50余位妇 女的编织共同体。为了让她们的创造力也得到更好的发挥,胡尹萍编造了一场法国比基尼泳装大赛,并为参与者制定了 一些基本规则:为自己的家庭成员设计比基尼,在颜色、形状、大小或内容上自主发挥。这样主动地设计并编织泳装为 阿姨们的表达提供了一种更开放的形式,也适合不同技能水平的人参与其中。
胡尹萍选取了85套毛线比基尼拍摄并PS到世界最顶级模特的网络照片上,在空间里的LED大屏幕上滚动播放,几套精选的 泳装也一同被挂在了墙上。这些虚拟的《雪白的鸽子》T台秀幻灯片是为法国比基尼大赛选出的参赛作品,而比赛尚未举 行。
雪白的鸽子》和《小芳》像是进入一场善意欺骗的复杂网络的窗口,这个网络同时改变着个体动态和当地的经济生态。 年长的阿姨们为她们的创造力找到了出口,并因工作的成效而获得经济上的回报,她们重拾了自信,并建立了新的社交 网络。镇中心的一个房间被指定为大家聚会的场所,编织者可以在这里寻求建议,囤积纱线,进行社交活动,随着阿姨 们的陆续加入 以至当地的麻将馆关门歇业。箭厂空间中央的小显示屏展示了编织者聚会房间内安全摄像头拍到的几段场 景。艺术家胡尹萍以“小芳”的秘密身份持续收集着这些针织品,将其视为独一无二的物件以及时间流逝的物理记录。
胡尹萍1983年生于四川,毕业于中央美术学院雕塑系(2010年),周遭的环境和际遇是她作品的土壤。她曾在北京箭厂 空间 2016年 和魔方 2016年 等独立空间做过个展,并参加过在PACE画廊 北京 Klein Sun画廊 纽约 FIAC Kommunale 画廊(柏林)的群展。她也是“@PARTY”的创始成员(2012年)。胡尹萍目前生活和工作于中国北京。
Snowy White Dove
Hu Yinping
2018.08.18 – 10.05
Arrow Factory is pleased to present Snowy White Dove, the sequel to Xiao Fang (2016), by Beijing-based artist Hu Yinping. In Xiao Fang, Hu conned her mother into knitting a multitude of fanciful hats on the pretense of a hat broker “friend,” Xiao Fang, who bought them at above market rates. Since then, this wool-ly project has continued to grow in its entanglements. Once word spread of Hu’s mother’s good fortune, the township’s ladies were also keen to participate and the project grew. The concept expanded from a single knitter into a weaving collective of fifty of the women in Hu Yinping’s hometown. To further harness their creativity, Xiao Fang fabricated a French Bikini Competition and set up guidelines for the knitters. The ground rules stated there were no limits on color, shape, size or content. It also included a suggestion to design bikinis for respective family members. Making swimwear offered a more open format for expression and allowed those of varying skill levels to participate.
Hu has chosen eighty-five of the best bikinis to photograph, photoshop onto digital images of world-class models and present on a large LED screen. Several of the highlights also hang on the wall. This virtual catwalk of Snowy White Dove is a slideshow of the pieces selected for the French Bikini Competition. The competition has yet to take place.
Snowy White Dove and Xiao Fang are windows into a complex web of well-intentioned deception that is altering the dynamics of individual lives and the larger economy of a local township. A room in the center of town has been designated a gathering space where knitters can go for advice, to stock up on yarn and socialize. This social space has become so popular that the local mahjongg parlor has shuttered its doors. The small monitor in the center of the room shows edited footage from a security camera in the knitter’s gathering space. The ripple effect of this activity also extends out to individuals. The older matrons are finding an outlet for their creativity and being financially rewarded for their results. They regain their self-esteem and connect to a social circle. The artist, Hu Yinping is still undercover as Xiao Fang, collecting the knitted pieces as one-of-a-kind items, and as a physical record of the passage of time.
Hu Yinping (b. 1983, Chengdu, Sichuan) earned her MFA from the Sculpture Department at the Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA) in 2010. She channels chance meetings and fortuitous situations into insightful scenarios. Her work has been exhibited in solo exhibitions at Arrow Factory (2016) and Mocube (2016), and was included in group exhibitions such as “Unlived by What is Seen” at PACE Gallery (2014) and the Kommunale Galerie in Berlin (2017). She is a founding member of the “@PARTY” collective (2012). Hu lives and works in Beijing.