The First Edition of Changjiang International Photography & Video Biennale

Renyi & Rebecca is the art collective by Hu Renyi & Rebecca Bardes.

Renyi & Rebecca will show the work" Informercial" in the “The First Edition of Changjiang International Photography & Video Biennale” which is opening on April 26 brings together the excellent works by artists at home and abroad, covering America, Europe, Asia, Oceania and Africa. It features works by the artists from more than 30 countries and regions including China, the United States, France, Germany, Japan, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao, Indonesia, Russia, Denmark, Switzerland, Hungary, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, etc. 

We can see the existential state of different countries and regions from the current globalization, as well as the humanistic spirit of the people living in different countries and regions. Through the juxtaposed display of the works, as well as the relationships between the wrestle and dialogue of the works, the viewer can see the rich and colorful humanistic feelings of the photographers and the charm of photos and videos.

The first edition of Changjiang International Photography & Video Biennale is organized by Chongqing Changjiang Museum of Contemporary Art (CMCA) which will open on April 26, 2015 and last for three months. We are fortunate to invite Alejandro Castellote (Spain), Francois Hebel (France) and Wang Qingsong (China) to be the chief curators for this Biennale.

The Biennale will explore the theme of “Real/Unreal” and deliberate on if photography and video can accurately document the past, interpret the reality during this fast-paced transformation epoch and enlighten us for future vision.

Chief Curators:

Alejandro Castellote ( Spain )

Francois Hebel (France)

Wang Qingsong（China）

On the Theme “Real/Unreal”

Photography was the major invention in the 19th century. Because of its accurate quality of documenting the reality, it exerted an influential impact against the then popular classic painting, hence perturbing the tradition of classic painting arena. However, as a matter of fact, simply because of the invention of photography, painting itself launched its own revolution which accelerated the outcome of impressionism and cubism for the artistic development in the recent era.

After around one hundred and seventy years, digital photography in the late 1950s catapulted the development of image technology. Enriched by the rise of high-definition digital camera, photography created differences in itself which raised further doubts about the validity of true or false, real and unreal, right and wrong…. With the continuous development of cellular phones and internet, the old-fashioned image production concepts/technologies are put out of the attention. This internal revolution creates a similarity to the embarrassing situation of the classic painting over one hundred and seventy years.

The theme Real/Unreal will explore the future of photography and video, challenging our new vision into the evolution of image production for the foreseeable future.

There will be three sections for this Biennale. The thematic exhibition will be chaired by the three curators who will invite over two hundred artists. The Teacher + Student Exhibition will invite two professors and two students recommended by their teachers from the ten renowned Chinese art academies (40 artists in total). The Symposium will be attended by both domestic and international photographic and video scholars and artists.