The photographic duo Birdhdead 鸟头 (aka Ji Weiyu and Song Tao) are one of the most elusive artists in China. “Birdhead used to be a world of two uninhibited photographers who had grasped the essence of photography but were too discontent with the statuts quo,” writes Duan Yuting, co-director of Lianzhou Museum of Photography. “They constantly looked for ways to reinvent themselves and experiment with the boundaries of photography. While producing images at a ferocious rate, they never stopped questioning the significance of a single photograph. They sensitive responsiveness to the materials they used and an extraordinary ability to combine media of different natures has pushed them to explore their relationship with the world in a continuous process of evolution.”
On the one hand, some works were treated with particular savagery: torn apart, re-assembled with staples, broken, distorted, covered with acrylic paint, resine, ink or even reptile skin. Song Tao explains they like the idea that it “hurts”. “In the end, it doesn't matter is the final work is a photograph or not, the most important thing is [our capability to express] human emotions.”
On the other, it is interesting to note the inherent references to Chinese pictorial and literary lineage. “In their project Tang and Song Poetry, they have found a new way to look at the world from oriental perspectives through a gigantic matrice of images made of Chinese characters photographed in the modern context,” expounds Duan. “This is not simply a way to characterize themselves, but a self-redeeming adventure that redefines their subjects in the principal sense, a contest between the spirits of the East and the alchemy of the West.” Birdhead indeed experiment with their own language, inventing Chinese characters and playing around with puns (such as the woks inscribed with 少女 shàonǚ, meaning alternatively “young girl” and “fantastic” ). Puns are in fact an integral part of Chinese culture. But if they inscribe themselves within this traditional lineage, the goal remains to move beyond it, leaving room for their personal expression. “We are too lazy to learn for years how to do a good calligraphy, but we love using it because we are Chinese,” asserts Song. “The Birdhead World” is Birdhead themselves. For the Birdhead we know, their burning energy has never ceased to fuel them to move beyond existing boundaries.
Birdhead is a photographic collective founded in 2004, consisting of Ji Weiyu (Chinese, born 1980) and Song Tao (Chinese, born 1979). Both artists graduated from the Shanghai Arts and Crafts School in 2000; Ji also studied at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in London. Ji and Song live and work in Shanghai. They have been working in the medium of analogue photography since it was established in 2004. The name "Birdhead" came from a random keystroke for film naming. The artistic practice of Birdhead is based on photographs but also beyond the philosophy of photography. Capturing all the beings around them, the two members of Birdhead digest and apply the thinking mode of conceptual art into the context of their image interpretation. Birdhead’s works have been internationally collected by: Tate Modern U.K., MoMA New York, Guy & Myriam Ullens Foundation, Wemhoner Collection, The Margulies Collection, Astrup Fearnley Museum.
More information: www.birdheadart.com
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