Working within a non-dualist aesthetic, where concept and beauty encounters harshness, Rong creates a singular and often poetic expression where will power and vulnerability constitutes a common ground for a new becoming. Rong appropriates contemporary of Chineseness, and tropes of Chinoiserie and femininity in order to subvert them. She has used lipstick, breast milk, ink and other materials to draw and write on her skin. She mines her own experiences of childhood, family, marriage and motherhood – and those of her female ancestors – juxtaposing English narration with Chinese traditional folk song to play with her complex hybrid identity. Her work explores the territory of translation: between two languages, between gesture and stillness, between her Chinese past and English present, between live performance and post productions.
Xie Rong studied at the High School of the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute before moving to London where she gained a BA in Graphic Design at Central Saint Martins and a MA in Fine Art at the Royal College of Art. Since 2011, she has been collaborating with photographer Jamie Baker in the documentation of her performance work. Her performance and action paintings has been seen in United States, United Kingdom, France, China, Sweden,Egypt, Germany, Australia and Korea, Finland, Mexico, Iran and Israel. She won 40 under 40 perspective art award in 2017 and the Chinese Arts Now scratch Award 2019. She is a visiting lecture at the Royal College of Art and University of East London.
Español
Trabajando dentro de una estética no dualista, donde el concepto y la belleza se encuentran con la dureza, Rong crea una expresión singular y a menudo poética donde la fuerza de voluntad y la vulnerabilidad constituyen un terreno común para un nuevo devenir. Rong se apropia de lo contemporáneo de la china y los tropos de Chinoiserie y feminidad para subvertirlas. Ha usado lápiz labial, leche materna, tinta y otros materiales para dibujar y escribir en su piel. Extrae sus propias experiencias de la infancia, familia, matrimonio y maternidad, y las de sus antepasados femeninos, yuxtaponiendo la narración en inglés con la canción tradicional china para jugar con su compleja identidad híbrida. Su trabajo explora el territorio de la traducción: entre dos lenguajes, entre el gesto y la quietud, entre su pasado chino y presente inglés, entre performance en vivo y postproducciones.
Fundamento:
“As long as we live in this world we are bound to encounter problems. If, at such times, we lose hope and become discouraged, we diminish our ability to face difficulties. If, on the other hand, we remember that it is not just ourselves but every one who has to undergo suffering, this more realistic perspective will increase our determination and capacity to overcome troubles. Indeed, with this attitude, each new obstacle can be seen as yet another valuable opportunity to improve our mind! Thus we can strive gradually to become more compassionate, that is we can develop both genuine sympathy for others' suffering and the will to help remove their pain. As a result, our own serenity and inner strength will increase.” - Dalai Lama.
1st of Nov, 2020. UK entered its second lockdown. The word on my face reads: 灾 Disaster/crisis.
It combines two Radicals: fire under roof. This is an action during lockdown, a searching for inner peace in flood of crisis.
1 de noviembre de 2020. Reino Unido entró en su segundo bloqueo. La palabra en mi rostro dice: 灾 Desastre, crisis.
Combina dos Radicales: fuego bajo techo. Esta es una acción durante el encierro, una búsqueda de paz interior en la inundación de la crisis.
