What does 100 years mean? It means tremendous changes. Rong Zhai has a history of over 100 years. You can understand the great changes in China over the past 100 years by understanding Rong Zhai. Things are prone to changes, but buildings are eternal. Prada, also a century-old brand, has restored Rong Zhai for 6 years and has held several exhibitions in it, with breakthroughs each time. The century-old Rong Zhai is invested with history and has become history itself. Entering into it, you can enjoy art.

 

On November 7, the winter is approaching, the rain is drizzling and the clouds are fading away in the dusk. It is the season of sasanqua camellia blossom with the strongest artistic atmosphere. Prada and artist Li Qing collaborated to hold the exhibition Rear Windows in Rong Zhai. With the support of Fondazione Prada, the exhibition is curated by Jérôme Sans, an internationally renowned art critic, curator, and institutional director. To film fans, Rear Windows must be familiar. The exhibition is inspired by the eponymous 1954 movie directed by Alfred Hitchcock. The one who is watching the outside world from the window is also being watched, evoking a philosophical thought: is the world in the window real or fiction?

 

Li Qing is a member of the post-80s generation. His works often have a serious sense of play games, including paintings, installations, images and other media, which is easy for him who is an aborigine in the Internet age. He is fascinated by the connection between images. The famous Finding Differences paintings and the "window" series on display focus on exploring the significance of creation, the current mass consumerism and society's hypocritical stances on beauty ideals.

 

At his studio, we can see several exhibition works which are basically finished. Neighbor's Window and Tetris Window are his paintings of Shanghai's landmark buildings. In these paintings, Li Qing suggests references to the city of Shanghai in different time and space. Li Qing said that this echoes Rong Zhai where the exhibition is held: "Rong Zhai had been the private house of a national capitalist, a public property after socialization, before being restored to become a place dedicated to culture and art. In the whole process, we can see the influence of power. Rong Zhai is rich in layers of European style, which is characteristic of the atmosphere of Shanghai." The old windows used in the installation were collected by Li Qing: "In the demolition of the city, we can get these materials easily, which I use for creation. These windows are all removed from their original building which has disappeared." In his eyes, this is the fate of these buildings, which have been abandoned in the changes of times. However, he created new urban landscapes by using the remains of destroyed buildings.

 

Is it a "colored egg" of personal memory?

 

A building is a "memory" made of steel and concrete. Once completed, it often carries the memory of a generation. The buildings in Shanghai Bund suggest a grander history, a collective memory of generations that continues.

 

 

Li Qing has been creating the "window" series since 2011, which has been on display in different places. The biggest difference this time lies in the particularity of Rong Zhai with a strong style, which is not very friendly to the works on display. However, Li Qing said, "It satisfies my imagination of the exhibition." These "windows" were previously displayed in white boxes, placed quietly for people to watch, stuck in the "viewing perspective". The exhibition in Prada Rong Zhai restored the window's attributes and formed a dialogue between seeing and being seeing or observing, which allows you to see hundreds of years at a glance.

 

Li Qing is good at this subtle balance. Born in the 1980s, he has seen the changes in the city. Buildings have been demolished and it is very difficult to preserve old things. But memories still exist. When the memories disappear, there will be nothing left. His works always focus on time, changes and contradiction, revealing the feeling of anxiety of the times.

 

The window divides not only the image, but also people's memory and living state. As the topic continues, we can feel the lowering of vision. There is always a place for the memories of the times. The buildings are silent, but there are always people telling the stories about them.

 

What about personal memory? Li Qing's studio is scattered with the materials he collected, including different versions of Lolita, and cuts from magazines around the world. There are always some small details, which can spark people's memory fragments. In his works, we can see Song Dong and Cai Guoqiang. Those strong negative slogans, such as "Why not do it?" and "In ignorance of destiny" can arouse people's emotions. In my opinion, the "colored eggs" in the exhibition awaken people's memories and create new memories at the same time. "In the exhibition, you can see some landscapes through the window. You seem to start from your personal perspective as if you are a person living here. As a visitor, you can see the traces of life left by others, which gives a fictional feeling of scene and stage," said Li Qing. That is exactly what he did. He imagined Rong Zhai as a space still used by its occupants. He recreated some key rooms, like the ballroom, the bedroom, the bathroom, and the karaoke room. He restored the exhibition hall as a living space, and furnished it with furniture, echoing the works. The presence of the former residents is suggested through artistic gestures. This is the survival of personal memory in another sense, echoing the strange atmosphere in Alfred Hitchcock's film, and reflecting reality and reproduction with parody.

 

Through the window of Prada Rong Zhai, you will see neon signs outside. This is Li Qing's new work, symbolizing fake news. With the rapid development of cities and explosion of information, people are losing the ability to perceive the truth of the world. "This is a very lonely feeling. When you look up at the night sky in the city, these signs give you a different feeling." Neon lights are beautiful and shiny. The fake news on them has nothing to do with you but you see them every day. They are absurd with a bit of poetic quality, just like this world.