Yibei Zhang
张移北
请脱钢盔
Curator: Jenny Chen
2024年9月11日 — 2024年10月25日
Longlati经纬艺术中心将于2024年9月10日欣然呈献艺术家张移北（b.1992，大庆）的个展。这是其艺术生涯中的首个机构个展，也是艺术中心驻留项目的成果展。围绕近年关注的心理学主题，她将以其独特的雕塑语言在Longlati的A展厅中拓扑出一个爱丽丝梦游仙境般的海洋公园。
“请脱钢盔”来自张移北在马来西亚购得的指示牌，是当地店铺用来预防罪犯戴头盔入室抢劫的指示。它曾被其别有用意地作为工作室入口标识，以提醒来访者“放下防备”。公共领域中的无效指示从而被转化为一种风趣的鼓舞。伴随着精神分析学习与个体意识的向内观看，她也对防御机制展开了一系列的意象探索：从动物（笠螺、沙钱、头盔海胆）、竞技武器（击剑佩剑），到个人物品（防弹手提包、奢侈饰品、化妆品），这些对象都透露着个体在自然或社会中自我保护的秘技。经过缠卷着私密心绪与跨物种情感的捏塑练习，艺术家将它们按自身感知的防御层级排布于空间中，邀请观众在非常规的展览动线中与之相遇。
Yibei Zhang, Helmet (part), 2024, mixed material, dimension variable. Courtesy the artist 张移北，《钢盔》局部，2024年，综合材料，尺寸可变。图片致谢艺术家
面对可能的危险或直接而来的攻击，贝类会将软体缩入壳内、鸵鸟选择把头埋进土里、猫咪可能哈气飞机耳。人类或许不需要忧虑天敌的侵犯或为生命的存续担惊受怕，但也将缺乏安全感视为威胁。从幼年时期开始，我们与他者交往的焦虑经验，逐渐发展出复杂的防御机制，并形塑着人格特质。动物世界亦是如此，它们为抵御侵害演化出的形态与习性，不仅确认与防卫着生存边界，也构成了各自的生物特性。有时这种演化十分外显，如双壳纲那些洛可可式的贝壳样式，越柔软的内核越能催生出坚硬乖张的外壳。然而，防御总是具有两面性，它在试图取消伤害源的同时，也必然减损自身的耐受性与包容性。如何在这样的辩证关系中游弋似乎是生命的永恒功课。
Yibei Zhang, Helmet (part), 2024, mixed material, dimension variable. Courtesy the artist 张移北，《钢盔》局部，2024年，综合材料，尺寸可变。图片致谢艺术家
In the face of potential danger or direct attack, molluscs retract their soft bodies into shells, ostriches bury their heads in the sand, and cats may hiss with flattened ears. While humans may not need to fear predators or constantly worry about survival, they still perceive a lack of security as a threat. From childhood, our anguished experience of interactions with others gradually develops into complex defence mechanisms, shaping our personality traits. The animal world functions similarly, where evolved forms and behaviours to resist harm not only establish survival boundaries but also define biological characteristics. Sometimes, this evolution is quite evident, such as the Rococo-like shell patterns of bivalves, where the softer core leads to a harder, eccentric exterior. However, defence mechanisms are always two-sided; while they aim to eliminate sources of harm, they also inevitably diminish one’s tolerance and inclusivity. Navigating this dialectical relationship seems to be an eternal life lesson.
This exhibition continues the contemplation of human social intricacies and empathy with deep-sea creatures in the “Sophia” series. If this previous series was a material reflection on the artist’s dim inner self, this time, Zhang delves into the psychological labyrinth to speculate the concept of defensiveness. Even so, her creations remain rooted in object-oriented ontology, which may explain her heightened sensitivity towards others and the concealed ethical intentions in her works. Throughout her works, the artist’s position as the creative subject never overshadows the objects, allowing them to maintain their inherent existence and independence. Despite the intricate relationships at play, the creator cannot indicate the entirety of her work, rendering any attempt to uncover the essence of Zhang's creations destined to fail. Within this exhibition, the countless interpretation possibilities, coupled with the artist's open-ended explanations, can also be viewed as an attempt to lower her defences.
陈嘉莹现为上海交通大学人文学院博士后研究员、独立策展人与写作者。2019-2023年于华东师范大学外国哲学系攻读博士，师从姜宇辉教授，聚焦身体、新唯物论与性别形上学的前沿研究。她近来转向受女性主义与后殖民理论启发的离散美学，也关注艺术理论的在地化实践。与此同时，她将艺术视为颠覆现有可感分治与可知框架的具体手段。2023年间她曾于经纬艺术中心担任艺术总监。
Jenny Jiaying CHEN is now a postdoctoral researcher at the School of Humanities, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, independent curator, and writer. From 2019 to 2023, she studied for a PhD in the Department of Western Philosophy at East China Normal University, under the supervision of Professor Yuhui JIANG, focusing on the frontier research of the body, new materialism and the metaphysics of sex. She has recently turned to diaspora aesthetics inspired by feminist and postcolonial theories and is also concerned with the localisation practice of art theory. At the same time, she sees art as a concrete means of subverting the existing partition of the sensible and frames of intelligibility. She worked for the Longlati Foundation as an Art Director in 2023.
