Unfamiliar Asia The Second Beijing Photo Biennial (2015)

by+Gong+Haiying

How do Asian borders take shape？ How do Asians see their ideologies and territory？ How do Asian countries describe Asia， from which perspective？

A group of Asian photographers attempt answers to these questions through their work showcased in the Second Beijing Photo Biennial. Initiated and curated by Central Academy of Fine Arts Art Museum（CAFAM）， the exhibition kicked off on October 15 at three places — CAFAM， 798 Art Zone and Caochangdi Art District —and will last until November 29.

Professionals acknowledged the first biennial， held in October-November 2013， to be a top-level photo exhibition. Themed“Unfamiliar Asia，” the exhibition this year shows more “problem consciousness.”

Wang Huangsheng， art director of this biennial and director of CAFAM，explained the theme in the foreword to the exhibition： Compared with the concept of the “West” which has distinct ideological characters， the idea and identity of “Asia”are vague and ill-defined. As those who are closely involved， how much can we see？

According to Yuko Hasegawa， one of the curators， colonization， modernization and globalization have served as catalysts for more diversified and intricate geographical relationships across race， religion， belief systems and cultural communities of Asia. Even for those living within， there emerges a sense of estrangement due to rapid changes. Thus， while it is increasingly difficult to express through words， graphics have become a replacement. In this exhibition， artists are seeing through lens and modern art， focusing not on the“West，” but Asia. Based on this angle of view， the biennial this year uses photography as a medium to observe. After further contemplation of the continent， the exhibition will present a newly-discovered Asia and its prospects for the future.

The exhibition is divided into three parts， including Thematic Exhibition， Collection Exhibition and Photography Exhibition. Photographs from 21 Asian countries and regions， including China， India， Japan， Turkey and South Korea， have been collected to show Asias cultural identities and social development. The collection includes“Chinese Pictures： From the CAFAM Photography Collection，” which is exhibited in the 798 Art Zone； and， “From Image to Photograph： Charles Jins Collection of Contemporary Chinese Photography，” on display at Cipa Gallery in Caochangdi Art District.

The “Photography Book Exhibition”features outstanding photo books from all over the world （including independent publications and handmade books）. The show attempts to present publications that have attained a certain standard in terms of photography， editing， innovation， design， printing， and production techniques of contemporary photography.

Also scheduled are a symposium on the theme of “Asian Wisdom” and a series of six lectures， on topics such as “Conversations on Asia” and “Looking Back on Asia”.

However， isnt it too much for “photography，” as an art form， to explore the rather broad concept of “Unfamiliar Asia”？ Wang Huangsheng replied： “Photography is a vehicle to record cultures and realities and a highly individualized art form that is more suitable to document and display our findings and contemplations directly and sensitively. This is a visual expression of what we have in our minds.”