当代唐人艺术中心荣幸地宣布，将于 2018 年 7 月 14 日下午 4 点，在北京第一空间推出艺术家赵赵的全新个展 “弥留”，由崔灿灿担任策展人。

这个故事，从一只猫开始。2015年的某天，北京的柏油路上遍布粉尘，汽车飞驰而过，沙砾和沥青，在阳光下折射着些许光斑。白色护栏隔开两种时速，人们各怀心事，匆匆前行。路的中央，一只猫的尸体，不知道经历了多久的碾压，仅存下一些印痕和毛屑。

事故的遗迹早就风化，地上只留下一个抽象而又模糊的图案。像是柏油路上卧着一小块地毯，时间褪尽了它原本的样子。最初的血腥和凄惨也一并远去，观者的情感由悲悯转向冷漠，多数路人并不在意这个“微不足道”的生命。关于这只猫的经历和遭遇，无人知晓。

赵赵用粉笔描摹下这个残存的形状，像是法医在凶杀现场，想寻找亡者最后的姿势。这个场景不是偶然，也绝非孤立存在。之后的几年中，赵赵在不同的地方，陆续看到一些相似的情形。意外和冷漠，规则与冲撞，总在公路上演，只不过主角不断的替换。

过往的悲剧，总因时间、空间的距离而逐渐模糊，也因不同的视界和心绪，变得浓淡不一。如果这个时空够短，我们还能最大程度的贴近事实的原貌。如果这个时空够长，残酷和震惊也随着形式的变化而削减，超出我们清晰的想象，变成一个抽象的，美学意味的挽歌。铭记悲剧的能力和付诸改变的能力，在源于敬畏和守护正义这一人类文明血统之中，两者从不分离。许多时候，一个悲剧的发生，总是参杂着人的冷漠，正义的不公，或是对责任的回避，对施暴者的恐惧。久而久之，它变成一种本能的习惯，处事的哲学，麻木不仁，漠视不见。这些比比皆是，无论在身边，还是在遥远的新闻里。

斑驳的痕迹，粉笔的飞沫，成了这个故事唯一的线索。生命的陨落，无论出于什么，都具有启示性。三年之后，赵赵将这些记录下的形状，猫被碾压的图形，用金属重新锻造。像是对所见的纪念，他需要留下这些不会消失的证据。它由四种物质组成，黄铜的闪烁，不锈钢的反射，黑铁的凝重，蓝铁的迷幻。曾经柔软的毛发，如今变成了坚硬无比的碎片，镶嵌在赵赵铺设的沥青地面之上。几千块材质、大小各异的碎片，组成了20多只猫的图形，分布在展厅的不同位置。它们之间像是孤岛的星盘，有时连接，有时又在沥青的阻隔下，碎裂成无数暗礁。如衣冢，卵石，或是黑色星河中的繁星。

如果你正好在日落时分来到展厅，巨大的沥青地面散发出静默的光辉。反光的碎片，纯洁无暇。顶窗洒下的光线，把人的目光拉向地面，迷幻而又肃穆。虽然，此刻的天空显得比大地更坚实，更迫近。

人们的在展厅中穿行，经过布满碎片的地面。每一次转身，或是目光的凝视，都让此刻的景象变的不可重复。光线、角度、时间、距离和不同的心绪，就算你等了几世，也无法将上一刻的感知弥留。铜与铁的碎片，压在黑色的大地上，几乎接近于不朽。但在日夜交替，晴雨变化看来，生命短暂，无物恒常。这即是祷文，也是偈语。

展场亦如一场弥撒。最后的晚餐，葡萄酒和面包替代了血与肉的献祭。猫的形象和故事，指向了更广泛的隐喻。它所象征的历史信息，个体生长，生命的意义，被置于更波澜壮阔的历史与现实之中。

1838年，普鲁士的汉堡铺设了第一条现代化的柏油马路，它成为工业文明扩张的标记性象征。在此之前的几千年里，沥青作为结合剂，筑建了许多古代文明，中国的长城、巴比伦的空中花园，庞贝古城的罗马大道。道路连接现代与传统，城市与荒原，中心与边缘。从汉堡开始，柏油路将世界划开，沥青源源不断的运往人类从未踏足的土地。没有现代化道路的世界，被冠以落后和荒蛮。

猫，神秘生物，阅人无数，夜行性，擅伏击，有肉垫，以其蠢萌和慵懒，迷惑主人。不过真正算得上“城市里的夜游者，荒野里的伏击手”的，多数是游荡野猫。它们行踪神秘，自由交配，栖居在人类不易察觉的角落。它们也不愿接受规则，穿越街区，寻找食物，独立的面对毫无经验的城市风险。

于是，柏油路对于猫而言，变成了一个奇特的地方。在这儿，有关时间与空间、规则和原生，机遇与风险，承认与冷漠的衡量尺度，全都改变了。公路成了猫的陷阱。现代社会的公共规则和行进秩序，对于这只独立特行的猫，显然无法应付。这场冲突显得如此悬殊，就像历史中无数次的先进与落后，强权与个体的对决。一方无所不能，战天斗地，另一方软弱无力，野蛮生长。柏油路规定了区域，划分了阶级，生长的形状，阳光的朝向。面对着全然陌生的规则与制度，即使最强壮的“动物凶猛”，也无以抗衡。最终，压路机和机械化的坚硬，抹平着了每一个长着肉垫的爪子，沥青上留不下梅花式的脚印。

每一段遥远路程的铺设与征战，都似乎孕育着人类所歌颂的现代文明的革命。无论是遥远古代的“神迹”，还是现代的工业“奇迹”，都意味着人类整体文明的“胜出”。在这些公共和集体的胜出背后，无数的个体选择、遭遇、伤痛、牺牲，以及最终的记忆，都成为了集体的附带条件。虽然这个附带从不偶然。

死去的猫，成了这个附带的象征。那些曾经生动、差异的个体，在狂热的集体主义面前，在国家和民族的神话中，个体牺牲的显得微不足道。这个象征所指向的，不是挑战者的“神迹”，而是个体的卑微和绝望。悬殊的抗争，旁观的冷漠，没有未来的未来。这些熟悉的故事，像是在弥留之际，在意识和无意识的含混地带，心里清楚，却无法表达。

现实，并不会在艺术中得以解决。但它为我们提供了一个事实与感知弥合的瞬间。残酷、血淋淋的悲剧，在这里转化成了另一番肃穆，但又迷幻的感知。它所携带的真实信息，混杂着美好的形式，合盘托出。迫使观者曾因伦理、美学和世俗需求的限制，不愿直视，在现实中却又真实存在的悲剧，如今直入眼前，无法回避。

在这个具有超越性的瞬间里，弥留像是对永恒的体验，逝去的想象覆盖经验的全部领域。我们暂时忘却了绝望，忘却了什么都改变不了的无力。故事的开始，那只无法顺从规则的猫，成了榜样，却又被压碾成粉末。那些死亡的沉重，封锁了天真的沉重，如此之多。我们仿佛看到天空和道路之间闪烁的金色，绽放的蓝色花火，坚硬的褐色岩石，像是自然界里至高无上的形式，关于永恒的美。但也只有一刹那，我们继而会再次陷入思考，堕入封锁天真之眼的现实：一只猫的故事，或是一株草的正义。

崔灿灿

《弥留的碎片》

2018.06.30

赵 赵

1982年生于中国新疆，2003年毕业于新疆艺术学院。赵赵自始至终都持续着颠覆性的方式进行创作，他热衷于利用各种艺术媒介对现实及其艺术形态传统惯例提出挑战，其各种领域的作品旨在探讨个体自由意志的力量和权威控制的力度。他在创作中关注并且展现当代剧变中的中国，并且直面人类内心的苦痛和压力。其作品中不时出现威胁与风险的概念，暗喻当今中国和全球背景下人们的生活境遇，以及在现代社会中的短暂与无常。同时，作品也反映了他对集体主义与个人理想相互并存的思考。

近年来，赵赵大胆激进的艺术实践赢得国际社会的重视，他曾在柏林亚历山大·奥克斯画廊、斯德哥尔摩Carl Kostyál基金会、洛杉矶Roberts & Tilton、纽约前波画廊、台北大未来林舍画廊、北京当代唐人艺术中心、北京艺术文件仓库等机构举办过个展与个人项目。他的作品也曾参加过多个机构的群展，包括美国纽约MoMA PS1、美国佛罗里达州坦帕美术馆、乌克兰基辅平丘克艺术中心、荷兰格罗宁根美术馆、德国柏林亚洲艺术博物馆、意大利米兰帕迪廖内当代艺术馆、西班牙卡斯特罗当代艺术中心、上海民生现代美术馆、北京尤伦斯当代艺术中心、日本横滨三年展等。其作品《塔克拉玛干计划》被选为2017“横滨三年展”海报、画册的背景图。同年赵赵被CoBo评选为中国艺术家Top10，获第十一届AAC艺术中国年度青年艺术家提名奖，2014年被Modern Painters列为全球最值得关注的25位艺术家之一。

Tang Contemporary Art is proud to announce the opening of Zhao Zhao’s solo exhibition “In Extremis” on July 14, 2018，in the first space of Beijing. Thisexhibition is curated by Cui Cancan.

This story begins with a cat. One day in 2015, dust blanketed an asphalt road in Beijing. The cars flew by, as the sunlight shining on the gravel and asphalt reflected a few pinpoints of light. White guardrails separated two lanes with different speed limits; everyone hurried onward, all with their own worries and concerns. In the center of the road was a dead cat—I don’t know how many times it had been run over—but all that was left were some tire marks and a bit of fur.

The traces of this story had been weathered, and all that was left on the ground was a vague, abstract pattern, like rolling out a small carpet on the asphalt. Time had worn away its original appearance. The initial bloodiness and misery had disappeared, so the viewer became indifferent, not sad. Most of the passersby did not care about this life—it was “worthless.” No one knew what this cat experienced and encountered.

Zhao Zhao depicted this vestige in chalk, like an expert at the scene of a murder trying to figure out the final posture of the deceased. This scene was not a chance occurrence, and it was certainly not an isolated incident. In the ensuing few years, Zhao Zhao continued to see similar circumstances in different places. Accidents and indifference, rules and collisions always play out on the roads; it’s just that the protagonist is always replaced.

Past tragedies always become hazy with temporal and spatial distance, and their emotional imprint is uneven due to different viewpoints and moods. If the temporal and spatial distance are short enough, we can still approach the original appearance of the truth. If this distance is long enough, the tragedy’s brutality and shock recede as its form changes, transcending our clear visions to become abstract dirges with aesthetic implications. The ability to always remember tragedy and the ability to change as a result come from the tradition in human civilization that reveres the defense of justice; the two are inseparable. Many times, when a tragedy takes place, there is always some indifference, righteous injustice, or avoidance of responsibility and fear of the violent among us. As time passes, these reactions become instinctive habit; they become coping mechanisms, allowing you to numb yourself and ignore it. This happens everywhere, in reaction to news from right around you, or from some distant place.

Mottled traces and chalk mists are the only threads in this story. The deterioration of life, regardless of its cause, is enlightening. Three years later, Zhao Zhao remade the shapes that he had recorded—the images of the flattened cats—in metal. As if commemorating what he saw, he needed to leave evidence that would not disappear. Comprised of four materials—glistening brass, reflective stainless steel, dignified black steel, and chimeric blue steel—this once soft fur has been transformed into extremely hard fragments, which are inlaid into the asphalt surface that Zhao Zhao set. Several thousand fragments of different materials and sizes constitute images of more than 20 cats, arranged in different places around the exhibition hall. They seem like a chart for an isolated island, sometimes connected and sometimes cut off by the asphalt, shattered into countless submerged reefs. They are like tombs, pebbles, or clusters of stars in a black Milky Way.

If you come to the exhibition hall at sunset, the massive asphalt surface has a silent radiance. The reflective shards are completely pure. The light shining through the top windows, hazy and solemn, draws the eye to the floor. However, in this moment, the sky seems closer and more solid than the earth.

As you wander through the exhibition hall, across the fragmented floor, every turn of your body or focus of your gaze makes the scene change in a way that cannot be replicated. Light, perspective, time, distance, and different emotions imply that you have waited for centuries, but you can’t sense death in the next instant. Fragments of copper and iron, pressed into the black ground, seem to approach immortality. However, as day shifts into night, and clear skies are obscured by rain, life becomes short and empty. This is both a prayer and a spell.

The exhibition site is like a Mass. At the Last Supper, the wine and bread replaced blood and flesh. The form and story of the cat point to a broader metaphor; the historical information, individual growth, and meaning of life that the cat represents is situated within a surge of past and present.

In 1838, Prussia laid the first modern asphalt road in Hamburg, which became a landmark and symbol of the expansion of industrial civilization. Several thousand years before this, tar was used as a binding agent in many ancient civilizations, in the Great Wall of China, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, and the Roman roads in Pompeii. Roads linked the modern and the traditional, the cities and the wilderness, the center and the periphery. From Hamburg, asphalt roads divided the world, and asphalt was carried to lands that people had never previously traversed. Parts of the world without modern roads were considered backward and barbarous.

Cats are mysterious animals. They can really read people, they travel at night, and they excel at ambushing their prey due to the pads on their paws; their occasional foolishness and indolence mystifies their owners. However, the majority of the cats that are night travelers in the cities and ambush artists in the wild are straycats. Their behavior is mysterious, they mate freely, and they often live in corners that man does not notice. They don’t like rules; they wander through streets and neighborhoods in search of food, independently confronting urban dangers that they have never known.

Therefore, for the cat, the asphalt road is a strange place. Here, the evaluation of time and space, rules and freedom, opportunities and risks, recognition and indifference, changes completely. The road was a trap for the cat. An independent cat obviously cannot deal with the common rules of modern society. This conflict is stark, like the countless progressions and regressions in history or a duel between the powers that be and the individual. One side is omnipotent and fighting nature, while the other side is weak and wild. Asphalt roads govern areas, dividing social classes, types of growth, and orientations of the sun. When confronted with entirely unfamiliar rules and systems, even nature’s most ferocious animal has no way to compete. In the end, steamrollers and mechanical hardness flatten the imprint of every claw growing out of their foot pads, so that no blossom-shaped prints are left in the asphalt.

Laying and conquering every distant stretch of road seems to add fuel to the revolution of modern civilization that humans have extolled. Whether they are called miracles of distant antiquity or modern industrial marvels, they imply that human civilization has “triumphed.” Behind these public and collective triumphs are countless individual choices, encounters, pains, sacrifices, and final memories, all of which become supplementary conditions for the collective. These supplementary conditions are never random.

The dead cat is a symbol of these supplementary conditions. The sacrifices of individuals that were once lively and different are unworthy of mention in the face of fanatical collectivism and in the myths of this nation and this people. This symbol points to an individual’s triviality and despair, not a miracle that a challenger has achieved; it is disparate resistance, a bystander’s indifference, and a future without a future. These familiar stories are like the moment of death, where your mind is clear but cannot be expressed, in a time when the conscious and unconscious are melded together.

Reality will not be resolved in art, but it provides us with a moment to bridge fact and perception. Here, the brutal, bloody tragedy is transformed into another solemn yet hallucinatory perception. It conveys real information mixed with beautiful form, revealing everything. Art compels viewers to face tragedies that truly existed, but that they were unwilling to see due to the limitations of ethics, aesthetics, and customs; here, these things cannot be avoided.

In this transcendental moment, death is an experience of the eternal; the vision of death covers all areas of experience. We temporarily forget to despair and forget about the helplessness of being unable to change anything. The beginning of the story, about the cat that couldn’t follow the rules, becomes a model, but one that is flattened into powder. The silence of death is so great, it seals the silence of naivety. We see glistening gold, flying blue sparks, and hard brown rocks between the sky and the road; they are the supreme forms of the natural world—an eternal beauty. But this is also just a moment; we are then drawn back into contemplation, sinking into a closed, naive reality: the story of a cat, or the justice of a blade of grass.

Cui Cancan

Fragments of Death

June 30, 2018

Zhao Zhao

Born in Xinjiang, 1982, Zhao Zhao graduated from the Xinjiang Institute of Arts, 2003.

All along Zhao Zhao was making work with a subversive appeal of its own, keens on raising challenges on the reality and its traditional practice of art form through a various art media. Zhao Zhao is known for making sculptures, paintings and installations which examine the power of individual free will and the dynamics of state control. Zhao Zhao’ s works attest to and touch on the awareness of a generation faced with dramatic change. Constantly confronted with the subject of world oppression. Notions of threat or risk are regularly present in his works, referring to the life he lives both locally and within today’ s global context, as a method of questioning the historical impermanence in our contemporary society.

He is very reflective on how concerns of the collectivity co-exist with the individual’s daily expectations and dreams. His provocative, multidisciplinary artist practice has garnered him international attention in recent years, includes solo shows in galleries such as Alexander Ochs Galleries (Berlin, Germany), Carl Kostyál foundation (Stockholm, Sweden), Roberts & Tilton (Log Angeles, USA), Chambers Fine Art (New York, USA), Lin & Lin Gallery (Taipei), Tang Contemporary Art ( Beijing, China ), CAAW ( Beijing, China ).

He has received the support from many international institutions, among which are listed MOMA PS1 - The Museum of Modern Art (New York, USA), Tampa Museum of Art (Florida, USA), Pinchuk Art Centre (Kiev, Ukraine) , Groninger Museum (Groningen, Netherlands), Museum of Asian Art (Berlin, Germany), Padiglione D’ Arte Contemporanea (Milan, Italy),Premi internacional d’art contemporani diputació de castelló (Castelló, Spain), Minsheng Art Museum (Shanghai, China) and UCCA (Beijing, China).

The Project Taklamakan of his was elected as the background picture of 2017 Yokohama Triennale Poster and catalog. At the same year, he was appraised as Top 10 Chinese artist by CoBo and obtained the award nomination of Chinese annual young artist in 11th ACC (Award of Art China) and one of Modern Painters “25 Artists to Watch”.

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