9 Questions with Zhou Song

Featured BACK COVER artist - ISSUE09

Song Zhou (b. 1982, Jiangxi, China) graduated from Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts in China and received the first-place award in the annual fine arts thesis exhibition and third place in the nationwide undergraduate and graduate art competition. He first gained recognition with his series of hyper-realistic oil paintings. In 2009, Song mounted a solo exhibition at Today Art Museum in Beijing.

His recent work explores the shifting political and social landscapes of urbanized societies developed according to principles of technological advancement. Whether to imagine a dystopian, post-apocalyptic future governed by war machines or the more pervasive, yet no less violent, limitations placed on the individual expression of professionalized urbanites, Song’s latest series probes human realities shaped by technology as much as nature.

His work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, most recently at YBl Creative House in Budapest, Kunstraum Villa Friede in Bonn, European Museum of Modern Art in Barcelona, the University of Vienna in Austria, Toronto Centre for the Arts in Canada, Sotheby’s in Los Angeles, Salmagundi Club in New York, Providencia Cultural Foundation in Chile, among others. In addition, Zhou participated in the XIth Edition Florence Biennale in 2017 and the 13th Havana Biennale in 2019.

@zhousongstudio

ARTIST STATEMENT

Zhou Song strives to make reality strange. While the hyper-realistic illusionism of his paintings seems to replicate objects as they appear to the eye, his selection of subjects defamiliarizes a viewer’s comprehension of their essential nature. Bodies that expand beyond their frames, fish guts that take the shape of butterflies and flowers, robots and androids: Song’s imagery unveils contradictions in the principles, habits, and relations that shape contemporary society. His paintings, almost uncanny in their resolution and finish, enhance the impression of a world that at once seems both completely familiar and unreal.

Song often aims to understand the laws governing the universe, nature, and human development by juxtaposing natural and artificial forms. Whether to dramatize unfettered consumption, the influence of technology on contemporary society, or the intangible impact of the universe’s constant expansion on human desire and destiny, Song’s paintings thrive in a state of contradiction and openness. What might at first seem aesthetically beautiful often reveals itself as abject upon closer viewing, while what may appear dystopian at first glance might seem quotidian, even normal, at a later turn. Song seeks to provoke questions about the limits of our physical worlds rather than to provide definitive answers.

INTERVIEW

Firstly, please introduce yourself to our readers. Who are you and what do you do? 

Hi! I'm the artist Zhou Song. My main artistic direction lies in painting, but I am also involved in various other media such as sculpture, video, and installation works.

Tell us a little about your background. What kind of education or training helped you develop your skill sets?

I've been fond of painting, ever since I was a child. I'm interested in depicting reality both figuratively and imaginatively. When I was young, I wasn't exposed to Western painting and was only introduced to traditional Chinese painting styles. In fact, I only began to study oil painting properly after I started university. Gradually this medium became my dominant tool for artistic creations. 

You work primarily with hyper-realistic oil paintings. Why did you choose this technique over others? What inspired you to follow this path? 

Painting comes naturally to me and is a part of me. However, I get limited satisfaction from the traditional fanatical pursuit of art. During my 16-year artistic career, I have created three series of works, and each series was in a different style and content. However, although oil painting is considered a traditional method of artistic expression, the content lays infinite possibilities, and an artist can maintain a fresh approach through incessant boundless innovations.

Can you tell us about your creative process? What aspects of your work do you pay particular attention to?

Despite the fact that there are differences in how I created my three series, there are also commonalities. As part of the creative process, I first conceive and design a picture's general appearance rationally and determine any ascertainable themes. Then I start drawing, all the while deepening, deconstructing, and reorganizing my pre-designed conceptions. As the rational and emotional brain intertwines, the final creative work exceeds the expected presentation. 

I pay special attention to whether the content and form of the pictures are "innovative", and I always look for "breakthroughs" in order to give the picture more tension thus more attractiveness. The process of trying something different excites me. For me, it is important that I try to rid my pictures of previous styles of painting; instead, I try to explore and innovate on the boundaries of art.  

Your paintings depict eerie scenes, where what we see might not be precisely what is depicted. Where do you get your imagery from? What are you trying to communicate through your art?

Rather than being influenced by the sensibility and commonality of reproducible painting, my long-term reading habits are what have led me towards spiritual exploration and into pursuing the purity and personalization of the language of painting. I constantly study history, religion, philosophy, and science, and I have read books on these subjects from the East to the West. The motivation for this in-depth study stems from my curiosity regarding the reason behind the existence of everything, including people. I am driven by my desire for knowledge, and I attempt to analyze the existence of human beings and the existence of everything from the perspectives of history, philosophy, religion, and science. 

At the same time, I try to think about things from multiple perspectives, and I record my thoughts. As a result, my works are the visual reflections of my daily thinking, and the various series convey my understanding of different issues. 

The "Red Field" series is an exploration of the "self", wherein the noumenon (life of soul) makes the (life of) the (human) body better. The works in this series convey my deep reflections into the spirit of existence through their bloody flesh and strong contrasts of color. 

The "Entropy" series concerns thoughts on the existence of the universe, as well as a series of dialectical interactions between science and philosophy. This includes energy and matter, dark energy and dark matter, the unity of chaos, and the contradiction and order and disorder of entropy. 

The "Inflating" series is a reflection on our living conditions in the real world. Modern living conditions are closely related to a living environment that is created by the universe and the inherent laws that trigger the unchangeable survival status and reality of human beings. In recent years, I've directed my thoughts from the individual to thinking about the group, and about how the problems of the group might be traced back to the universe. Among all the complex things in our existence, how we move from complexity to simplicity and how we discover the meaning of existence is consistent with the way art extracts the individual expressions of an artist's unique style from complexity.

Your art aims to provoke questions, as you mention in your statement. What role do you think artists play in society? In your opinion, can art influence the way the public sees the world? 

The artist is an extremely important member of society. They explore the highest limitations in the spiritual realm. Artists explore the boundaries of human consciousness and form, which are also the essence and soul of contemporary art. Art has no specific goals or directions, and this characteristic offers artists infinite possibilities. Artistic creations are always endeavouring and are brave in that they break the boundaries set by human beings. Works created by artists, through active ideological motivation, can guide the public towards a spiritual level wherefrom they can look at the world from a different perspective.

Let's talk about the art market. What do you think about the art community and market? How do you cultivate a collector base?

Today's art market is both chaos and purity, in a multidimensional world. We should not deliberately separate it or try to escape it; rather, we should sincerely create what we want and strive to complete the work. There will be collectors who completely understand you when collecting your work. All of this is "natural" and unintentional; therefore, there is no need to seek it deliberately.

Over the past 12 months, we have witnessed a growing number of online exhibitions and live events. What do you think of the recent changes in the art world? Do you miss the art world as it was before the pandemic, or do you see more opportunity now?

Change is an inevitable trend. The internet has changed the world and created more artist perspectives. I miss the world before the epidemic, when I could go anywhere in the world without hesitation, while nowadays there are many factors to consider when traveling or hosting art exhibitions. I think that the availability of opportunities is not directly related to the epidemic. An artist's opportunities depend on whether their work can arouse people's empathy and thinking. The artistic works themselves determine everything! (regardless of the circumstances)

Finally, do you have any upcoming shows or collaborations that you are looking forward to?

Next year, in Aprile, I will hold a personal exhibition at the Guardian Art Center in Beijing, China. There, I will showcase artworks that I have created in the past ten years. I am looking forward to reaching and collaborating.

Interview translated by Rosemary Shen