 |
Zhu Ming
Born in Hunan Province in 1972 and a Beijing resident since 1993, Zhu Ming gained international recognition as a performance artist involved in the creation of the famous and controversial collective work "To Add one Meter to an Anonymous Mountain", performance at Miaofeng Mountain, Beijing, May 22, 1995. Zhu Ming, together with Zhang Huan and Ma Liuming, can be considered one of the most important performance artists of the last decade. He has performed and exhibited in many international Biennales and group shows, including the Between Past and Future photographic exhibition at the V&A London. His performance work deals with the passage of time, physical extremes, isolation and attempts at communication, or the futility and ephemeral nature of these attempts.
In the poignant BUBBLE SERIES, Zhu Ming encloses himself in a large transparent plastic bubble in which he often places himself in a foetal position as if returning to the sleep in his mother’s womb; the place where reality and illusion truly exist side by side and where life and death come together in an ultimate “bubble”. The bubble is inspired by his childhood experience of the foam created from the individual soap bubbles that appeared when washing clothes by hand, a daily practice he started when young. Adrift on the sea, he floats naked inside the bubble with a breathing pipe attached to it, allowing the current to determine his direction. There is an implicit symbolic meaning: the soft and fragile skin of the bubble serves as a metaphor of a womb from which life is shaped, nurtured and exiled; while the pipe connecting Zhu Ming and the bubble symbolises the connection between umbilical cord and womb. Further, the crispness of the bubble represents the fragility in many aspects of reality as well as that of human nature. An inevitable natural life cycle, from start to end, is in full evidence in Zhu Ming’s work .
Zhu Ming has performed his Bubble Series in Hong Kong Harbor, China and Sydney Harbor, Australia. Other exhibitions include Hong Kong - Berlin Art Festival, Berlin, Germany (2000), Fuck Off, Shanghai (2000), Photography & Performance Art of China in the 1990’s at Ethan Cohen Fine Arts, New York (2000), Charming China, Bangkok, Thailand (2001), Zero Degree, Beijing (2001), FIAC 2001, Art Chicago 2002, Liquid Sea, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney (2002), Sharjah International Biennial 6 (2003) and Art Miami (2003).
Zhu Ming Biography
1972
Born in changsha hunan Province China
EXBIHITIONS
1993
“ZHUMING modern Art Exhibition”, China National art Gallery Beijing
1994
“Commemorati on of 100 Year so fmodern Art”, Germany
1995
“Tour show of china avant-gande”, Tokyo/New York/Fukuoka
1997
“Demonstration of china Video Art”, Beijing China
1998
“Academic exchange and Exhibition of moderm Art in Guangdong”, Guangzhou China
1999
March: “Nippon International performance Art Festival”, Tokya/nagano/Osaka/Nagoya, Japan
May: “Poly-Phendrene”, Beijing China
October: “Back-Forth-Right-Left”, Beijing China
2000
April: “Travel 2000 Art Festival”, Hong Kong
August: “ Hong Kong – Berlin Art Festival”, Berlin Germany
August: Curated and attended “1* Open Art Platform” , Beijing China
September: “ART CHICAGO 2002”, US
November: “Fuck Off”, Shanghai China
2001
January: “Charming China”, Bangkok Thailand
July: “Individual Expression”, Beijing China
August: “Organized and attended “2* Open Art Platform”, Sichuan China
October: “Zero Degree”, Beijing China
January: “FIAC 2001”, France
October: “ART Cologhe 2001”, Germany
2002
January: “Dialogue – The Other 2002”, Italy
August: “Cut In” Photos & Videos, Beijing China
2003
March: “Liquid Sea”, Sydney MCA
April: “Sharjah International Biennial 6”, Sharjah
September: “IPFO 2003”, Odense Denmark
October: “BLOOD: Lines & Connections”, Denver MCA USA
2004
February: “Me . Me . Me” Art Exhibition, Beijing China
May: “Radiance & Resonance” Art Exhibition, Beijing China
June: “Between Past and Future”, ICP New York USA
September: “Chinese Contemporary Opening”, Beijing China
2005
January: “ Text me ”, Sherman Galleries Sydney Australia
June: “51st Venice Biennale – WATERWAYS 2005”, Venice Italy
October: “ China live “, Liverpool & London V&A England
|
|
|
