“Zheng Jiang — Hao Creek” is the first exhibition of the “Map of Homeland” series curated by Wang Che.

The series has invited four artists from different regions, in an attempt to show the diversity of regions as well as different modes of thinking and sensory experiences in the homogeneous urban context, and to explore how one’s art can be deeply influenced by where he or she is from, according to Wang. “A map that covers various occasions and emotions will be the product of reconnection with the homeland,” said the curator.

The first artist in the series is Zheng Jiang, an oil painter born in a village by a river called “Hao Creek” in Wuyun Town, Jinyun County, Zhejiang Province. “A mountain stream in nature, Hao Creek gets torrential with rapidly rising water level during storms, so in the past it was called ‘Evil Creek,’” Wang wrote in the exhibition profile.

“Since ancient times, the locals have been coexisting with the river, and the consequent evolution of it from ‘evil’ to ‘good’ in the eyes of the locals reflects that it’s this kind of interaction that helps form different human cultures along different rivers. In this project with ‘Hao Creek’ as the background, Zheng works on the connection between his memory of growth and the river,” said Wang.

The curator believes that maps are one of the efficient ways for humankind to learn about the world. They help us not only construct the world but also reorganize history. Meanwhile, “homeland” in art is a spiritual space and a “mysterious center” of one’s life. “Homeland” in this sense refers to a variety of places different in geology, terrain feature, climate, ecology, production process, cultural memory, etc. Hence, it is also a tapestry that embodies the diversity of such a place that attracts artists to think and develop their own unique views and art languages.

Artist Zheng graduated with a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in oil painting from the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing. In 2012 his works were exhibited at Walker Art Gallery John Moore Painting Prize Exhibition in Britain.

Dates: Until April 8

Hours: 11 a.m.-7 p.m., closed Mondays

Venue: Serpentine Gallery, 109, Block 2, Nanhai E-Cool, Shekou, Nanshan District (南山区蛇口南海意库2栋109蛇口画廊)

Metro: Line 2 to Sea World Station (海上世界站), Exit A

(SD News)