In connection with the exhibition No Name by Chinese artist Wang Ningde, Galleri Image has published a book by the same name. The publication contains a wide selection of photographic artworks from the series No Name, and two essays written by curator Lisa A. Orcutt and author Gitte Broeng about the artworks. Foreword is written by Beate Cegielska. Danish artist Lasse Krog Møller is the book’s graphic designer.
On Saturday 24 October at 2 pm, Galleri Image hosted a book launch with Wang Ningde, Lisa A. Orcutt, Gitte Broeng, Beate Cegielska and Lasse Krog Møller. The artist and Lisa A. Orcutt participated from Beijing via video call.
About No Name:
The No Name series revolves around photographic pieces. Since 2015, Wang Ningde has visited different cities in China, photographically collecting thousands of paint smudges on public walls. The photographs depicted places where the city administration had painted over unauthorized advertisements in an attempt to conceal them. The paint smudges often stand out, as the aesthetics are not in general a priority for the city administrations.
Wang Ningde reutilises the photographed paint smudges to create new images of expressive portraits and art historical moments. In a digital editing process, he constructs with his own photographs’ new motifs on top of pictures of protesters or social events. His final step in the digital editing process is to remove the background picture completely, leaving only the vivid brushstrokes of the paint smears.
The title of the series No Name refers to the nameless participants in public space, such as the unnamed citizens and nameless urban spaces. The paint smudges begin as cover-ups on the urban, social facade, then transformed by Wang Ningde to emphasise the emotional and cultural tensions in public.
The book can be bought in Galleri Image for 200 DKK.
Wang Ningde (b. 1972, CN) graduated from the Photography Department at Luxun Academy of Fine Arts in 1995. He lives and works in Beijing. Working with photography and installation, Wang Ningde employs multiple forms to expand the boundaries of photography, exploring foremost questions about the language and nature of the image. In recent work, Wang has envisioned photography’s history and language as a whole, describing it as a world that is parallel to—not intersecting with—reality. An interest in exploring multiple aspects of this idea underlies the development of his artworks.
Lisa A. Orcutt (US) is a curator and educator based in Beijing. She has previously served as project coordinator at the Danish Cultural Center, Beijing. Orcutt holds a Bachelor of Law degree in sociology from Renmin University of China and an MA degree in art history from Institute of Fine Arts, NYU, where she focused on contemporary art and curatorial studies.
Lasse Krog Møller (b. 1972, DK) is a visual artist, graduated from the Jutland Art Academy in 2001, working with installation, objects, photos, text, drawing and publications. He has previously worked as a graphic designer on publications for Holstebro Art Museum, ARoS Aarhus Art Museum and Galleri Image.
Gitte Broeng (b. 1973, DK) is an author and MA in literature and art history, working with the interplay of literature and art. She debuted as a poet, but has published books in numerous genres and written several texts in collaboration with visual artists and for art catalogues.
The exhibition and book are supported by the Danish Arts Foundation, the S.C. Van Foundation, the Augustinus Foundation, The Aarhus Stiftstidende Foundation, Grosserer L.F. Foghts Foundation and the City of Aarhus (Kulturudviklingspuljen).
Photo credit: Gert Skaerlund
