Using photography as his medium, Chinese artist Chen Wei aims to counter the chaos of his nation’s development with a slower, deliberate execution of his work. A survey of 12 representative works by the artist will be featured in a solo exhibition titled “Noon Insomnia” at Singapore’s Ota Fine Arts opening on Friday.Chen Wei is part of an emerging generation of Chinese artists born in the 1980s who are less concerned with political criticism or history, showing art with themes of intellectual freedom and identity. His photography is thus evocative of childhood memories, chance encounters, paradoxical situations, and philosophical quandaries. Using technical skills gained while working on the set of a television station, Chen Wei typically directs and stages his works. He has been known to sketch and create hand-made, miniature models initially. With this added layer of contemplation, he infuses elements of memory and philosophy in his works.Dissecting the title of the exhibition, “Noon Insomnia” refers to the artist’s visualization of a Kafkaesque paradox of embarking on a journey that leads to nowhere. The title also refers to a work in which a sinking boat in a lake carries a man nowhere. Reminiscent of Chen Wei’s own childhood in rural Zhejiang Province, the title also references when the artist would often sneak outdoors while factory workers and other children went home for an afternoon nap. That period of restlessness relates to the change in labor practices during the following decade and questions its difference.Chen Wei’s works reveal depth through scrupulous detail and preconceived story lines that allows the viewer’s mind to wander both anecdotes of modern China, and largely the universal experience.Chen Wei's “Noon Insomnia” is at Singapore’s Ota Fine Arts from July 3-August 15.
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