This bilingual book is the result of a collaboration between artist Xue Ruozhe and writer Dongmen Yang. For his solo exhibition "PIÈCE UNIQUE" at MDC Paris (September 2024), Xue Ruozhe created a series of paintings themed Umbrellas, in which a girl holding an umbrella with her back to the audience and her reflection appear repeatedly. These four paintings will be displayed one by one in a street-facing space, rotating periodically to create a visually perplexing and interwoven viewing experience. Dongmen Yang's writing takes the form of a long poem titled 33. French doctors often ask patients to say "33" during examinations, as this word contains several uvular sounds that easily cause vibrations in the throat and chest, helping the doctor make a diagnosis. This long poem can be seen as a diagnosis of intimate emotions. Of course, 33 is not an X-ray; it is more akin to a supplementary tool, attempting to use sound to complement the images and to help perceive this series of paintings—the world within the artworks and the imagination behind them.
About the Artist
Xue Ruozhe was born in Jiangsu Province. After graduated from the Oil Painting Department of China Central Academy of Fine Arts, they continued their study in the Painting Programme of Royal College of Art, and obtained their master's degree in 2015. They are the award winner of the Neville Burston Prize, Gordon Luton Prize for Fine Art, and the Tom Bendheim Prize, also the recipient of China National Scholarship. They were shortlisted for the Sovereign Asian Art Prize in 2022. Xue currently lives and works in Beijing and Guangzhou.
About the Writer
Dongmen Yang, graduated from Paris VII University, Associate Professor at the Central Academy of Fine Arts. Co-founder of DawanArt. His works include "Spices","The Old Prince", " Three stories of painting " and the translation is "L' Âge d' Homme".
