2024 marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and France, as well as the Year of Culture and Tourism between China and France. Among them, Hao Zhenhan, a post-80s Chinese artist, will travel to France in the spring of 2024 to carry out his research project, exploring artisanal workshops in Paris and across France, a French residency program supported by the Académie Française. Hao Zhenhan is an artist and designer who has lived in Jingdezhen for a long time, and is a typical "slash youth". This residency in France will provide him with a new creative perspective and a deeper understanding of the artistic fields of China and France, exploring the inextricable links between them.
It's about people
It's about culture
In mid-April 2024, artist Hao Zhenhan will have the opportunity to visit the workshops of the French National Furniture Management Center to receive professional and artistic support in France, meet more experts in the same field, and carry out technical exchanges between the two countries in this field. In the interview, he expressed his great expectations for this residency program. "I hope to bring my practical experience of the Chinese craft industry, especially the production of porcelain, to observe and study the uniqueness of the French craft sector. ”
As an inductee, Hao has developed his aesthetic across a wide range of creative disciplines, and his work has been exhibited at prestigious international institutions such as Christie's and the M+ Museum in Hong Kong. He has a deep understanding of "craftsmanship" and the connotations behind it, and is adept at using different craft techniques to explore the unappreciated qualities of ordinary materials or the techniques of unknown craftsmen.
Hao Zhenhan's works are displayed.
"Although I always introduce myself to others as a 'slash youth', I feel that the main line of my focus has not changed, which is the continuous study of culture and people. I hope to be able to use the medium of craftsmanship to explore the stories about people behind it, the historical changes in the local area. Conduct interdisciplinary research from a new perspective. ”
During his residency, Hao plans to continue his research on the art and skills of artisans who have been neglected or even forgotten. "For this project, I also hope to focus more on the connection between these objects and people by studying the historical artifacts and documents of the various workshops, tracing the behind-the-scenes stories of those representative cultural relics. It is not limited to the observation and research of the craft and the material itself, but also focuses on the creation process of the craft, understands the craft from the perspective of the creator, and then feels the aesthetics and poetry of the craft. ”
Hao Zhenhan's research methods are inextricably linked to his long-term immersion in the culture of Jingdezhen, the porcelain capital of China, and in his narration, we can find that Jingdezhen's ceramic culture has extended into the subtleties of the entire city.
Jingdezhen can't avoid ceramics, so the local ceramic culture is particularly interesting. If you walk into a small alley, you will see a family-style workshop making porcelain. After a long period of cooperation, everyone in the family is responsible for different processes, some are specialized in making blanks, one is for firing kilns, and the other is for glaze. This relationship involves each other, as if it sometimes seems chaotic, but it is full of human touch. ”
Hao Zhenhan's works are displayed.
This unique cultural texture is integrated into the daily life of Jingdezhen, and between the breath of the locals, it is also immersed in every minute of sunrise and sunset. Of course, this traditional culture is constantly being reinvented. In Hao Zhenhan's observation, Jingdezhen's value system for an artifact is relatively diverse. "Song Dynasty porcelain needs to have the taste of the Song Dynasty, and modern (porcelain) also needs to have a modern taste, but the evaluation system of each taste is different. There is a sense of confrontation and at the same time coexistence. So this state of affairs is particularly interesting. ”
Today, the old Jingdezhen is embracing people from all over the world in a new way, and these people will bring new stories, and Jingdezhen coexists with all the innovations. As Hao Zhenhan said: "Jingdezhen has been in a state of virtuous circle in the collision of more diverse cultures, which in turn gives Jingdezhen vitality and vitality. ”
Hao Zhenhan's works show Q-Beijing Youth Weekly.
A-Hao Zhenhan.
qWhat is the role of ceramics in participating in this residency program? aI myself have been doing research in the field of ceramics, and when I visited French craftsmanship, I wanted to limit myself to more than just documentary research or result research. I'm looking forward to discovering how these findings connect to the French people and their history. Therefore, ceramics is a good medium, which can connect all aspects in series. Behind ceramics is a state of life and a culture. However, the same culture has been evolving at different times and in different geographical environments. The same is true of ceramics, which connect people, times, and cultures of different countries. In addition, the ceramic industry is actually a labor-intensive industry, which is related to many natural resources, and I am also looking forward to studying some of the local natural resources in France, the way of life of the local people, the local culture, etc. through ceramics. qHave you ever visited French craftsmanship before? aI've been to Paris once, but only for a few days. Therefore, I am more interested in the dissemination of the artisanal workshops in Paris. Therefore, this time I am particularly looking forward to an intensive visit to the artisanal workshops to see a more diverse and comprehensive state of French craftsmanship. qWhat kind of Chinese craftsmanship would you like to share with the relevant French craftsmen? aBased on my own research results and accumulation, at least from the perspective of Jingdezhen, I share my vision of craftsmanship and the situation of the ceramic industry from my perspective through many works. qHaving lived and worked in Jingdezhen for a long time, what do you think is the change in Jingdezhen's culture? aI think this transformation is a gradual occurrence. First of all, in ancient times, foreign culture entered Jingdezhen and combined with oriental culture, so that Jingdezhen had a broader vision and gradually made ceramics to the extreme. Now, tourists from all over the world have driven the tourism industry in Jingdezhen, which I think is a particularly good thing. The second is that super first-tier cities and the fast-paced life in first-tier cities will make everyone feel very tired. After living in Jingdezhen, many people have found different possibilities in life and creation. Everyone moved to Jingdezhen with the idea of "living a different life", which will also bring a lot of fresh things to Jingdezhen, drive the continuous upgrading of Jingdezhen's offline retail space, and make Jingdezhen's entire infrastructure more complete. At the same time, Jingdezhen has also attracted some domestic and foreign artists, creators or universities to come over to do more exchanges and exchanges, thus forming a good virtuous circle, which is a particularly good thing.
textWang Yajing
EditHanhaha
People photographyLee Young-moo
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February 29, 2024 Gao Youpeng