Harriet Min Zhang
哈利
1. Projects
Somewhere in the fog / 霧下症狀
Clean noise / 靜噪
Time moves with merciful slowness... / 慢鐘
Under the gavel / 一聲千兩
The enduring ephemeral / 慢漫
Echoes of Mt. Qomolangma / 珠穆朗瑪的迴響
I spoke to them
Parallel
Blue cables in Venetian watercourse / 他山之石，新代理人
People’s Park Plinth
2. Public programmes
3. Writings
4. Translations
5. studio@DING
6. About
7. Chronological archive
Exhibition text
Dori Deng's solo exhibition, Clean Noise, featured eleven works from her ongoing Expansion Series (2020 - present), unpacking the multilayered meanings of the word expansion: the diffusion of light, the amplified structural or material qualities in a work, the increased availability of mass-produced industrial objects, and the elaboration of a discussion about orders and disorders hidden behind her practice.
“Expansion Series,” Dori explained, “is rooted from the research of Modernist Architecture, particularly the International Style in 1920s. The movement used standardised construction materials such as steel and glass in repetitive and geometric composition, to introduce the light and volume into the interior, therefore enlarging the perceptive experience of a person over architecture exploit. The light sculptures in this series are articulated with craft techniques as well as the adaptation of industrial process, it created balance and harmony through juxtaposing the handmade and standardised qualities. Metaphorically, the series questioned our urbanisation and industrialisation development. One hundred years later, we are returning to the beginning of this cycle -- revalue handmade quality, appreciate slow living, and exit from cities. The nature of human progression is always in a cycle.”
Installation view of exhibition Clean Noise
Minimal. Neat. Organised. Precise. Dori often works with precisely-cut industrial materials, metal wires that visualise the physical mechanics between different parts, as well as natural media like wood, rocks, and light. She challenges the idea of ready-made materials in industrial and architectural scenes by engaging with them through her crafting. Clean in the exhibition title not only echoed the aura of Dori's work, but also represented the common impression of an order, a social construct shaped by the perpetual momentum of mechanisation and automation. Noise, on the other hand, referred to the disorder or chaos that once existed - if not still exists - under the clean appearance of the order.
Audience would instantly sense the thickness and cleanness of Dori's use of materials. Thickness refers to a web of meaning and a melange of social facts embedded within an object matter. For instance, as we mention the word “raw material” of a work, are we aware that their rawness is rather deceptive, that they are, in fact, ready-made materials which have gone through a controlled, regulated and standardised process of production? Our extensive need for automated batch processes - to produce varieties of sheet glasses, sheet metals, thin wires, light tubes - has distracted us from the large-scale manufacture that has been going on for more than a century. Dori’s works evinced an understanding that the relation between clean-cut man-made materials and a larger narrative began long before a thematic reference as such was made. She developed it through a combination of craftsmanship and minimalist presentation. While cleanness not only refers to the clean-cut and the clean-fit, but also intended to mock the effort we put into an unthoughtful maintenance process, in which we, on one hand, produce noise and chaos, and, on the other, try to eliminate the unwanted. Hence, noise - the unwanted sound, an industrial byproduct, a piece of intangible pollution - in this context became yet another laughable symbol for humans’ selfishness.
Expansion Series No.35. 2024.
Clear glass, frosted glass, metal wire. 60 x 16 x 40 cm. Expansion Series No.31. 2024. LED neon tube, metal wire, natural rocks. 190 x 80 x 145 cm. Expansion Series No.33. 2024.
Projected light, metal wire, natural rock. 200 x 115 x 145 cm.
Expansion Series No.34. 2024.
Projected light, stainless steel sheet, metal wire, natural rock. 190 x 125 x 160 cm. Expansion Series No.36. 2024. LED neon tube, glass and steel structure. 65 x 35 x 170 cm.
Expansion Series No.26. 2024. LED neon tube, glass and steel frames. 240 x 5 x 90 cm. Expansion Series No.37. 2024.
LED neon tube, glass and steel structure. 42 x 10 x 65 cm.
Expansion Series No.38. 2024. Stainless steel structure, glass, metal wire. 90 x 22 x 30 cm.
BROWNIE Project's white and black spaces provided Dori with a complex environment to present different sculptures. Inside the bright lobby, we could see the clear lines of the interior. The natural light only made every detail clearer. The partition wall in the middle cut into the gallery space, blocking some of the natural light and providing a grey space for Dori to play with. As we turned into the dark space with dropped ceilings, we would encounter an entirely different aura in which the lights in Dori’s works became the only source of lighting, leaving us a sense of danger...... The various atmosphere and aura became an important part of the exhibition's narrative, allowing us to feel the nuanced relationship between the works.
BROWNIE Project's CORRIDOR, a 12-metre long, 7-metre high and less than 1-metre wide dark narrow space, is a venue to support young artists in presenting multi-media work. For the exhibition Clean Noise, we have also named it The Analogue Room and used it to show objects that have been dear to Dori and her practice. This semi-independent curatorial project space provided an opportunity for audience to understand Dori’s creative process in a richer context. Here we presented a mechanical metronome, a display of failed/cancelled materials, a film station, a duo-slide projector, and one of her Drawing Studies.
(Find out more about The Analogue Room here.)
External links:
Press release published on Brownie Project’s WeChat official account.
Photo documentation on the gallery’s website.
The exhibition was recommended by West Bund Art and Design fair.
哈利
Somewhere in the fog / 霧下症狀
Clean noise / 靜噪
Time moves with merciful slowness... / 慢鐘
Under the gavel / 一聲千兩
The enduring ephemeral / 慢漫
Echoes of Mt. Qomolangma / 珠穆朗瑪的迴響
I spoke to them
Parallel
Blue cables in Venetian watercourse / 他山之石，新代理人
People’s Park Plinth
2. Public programmes
3. Writings
4. Translations
5. studio@DING
6. About
7. Chronological archive
Clean Noise / 靜噪
Dori Deng’s solo exhibition
at BROWNIE Project, Shanghai
from 31 Aug 2024 to 2 Dec 2024
(along with The Analogue Room in BROWNIE’s corridor)
Dori Deng’s solo exhibition
at BROWNIE Project, Shanghai
from 31 Aug 2024 to 2 Dec 2024
(along with The Analogue Room in BROWNIE’s corridor)
Exhibition text
Dori Deng's solo exhibition, Clean Noise, featured eleven works from her ongoing Expansion Series (2020 - present), unpacking the multilayered meanings of the word expansion: the diffusion of light, the amplified structural or material qualities in a work, the increased availability of mass-produced industrial objects, and the elaboration of a discussion about orders and disorders hidden behind her practice.
“Expansion Series,” Dori explained, “is rooted from the research of Modernist Architecture, particularly the International Style in 1920s. The movement used standardised construction materials such as steel and glass in repetitive and geometric composition, to introduce the light and volume into the interior, therefore enlarging the perceptive experience of a person over architecture exploit. The light sculptures in this series are articulated with craft techniques as well as the adaptation of industrial process, it created balance and harmony through juxtaposing the handmade and standardised qualities. Metaphorically, the series questioned our urbanisation and industrialisation development. One hundred years later, we are returning to the beginning of this cycle -- revalue handmade quality, appreciate slow living, and exit from cities. The nature of human progression is always in a cycle.”
Minimal. Neat. Organised. Precise. Dori often works with precisely-cut industrial materials, metal wires that visualise the physical mechanics between different parts, as well as natural media like wood, rocks, and light. She challenges the idea of ready-made materials in industrial and architectural scenes by engaging with them through her crafting. Clean in the exhibition title not only echoed the aura of Dori's work, but also represented the common impression of an order, a social construct shaped by the perpetual momentum of mechanisation and automation. Noise, on the other hand, referred to the disorder or chaos that once existed - if not still exists - under the clean appearance of the order.
Audience would instantly sense the thickness and cleanness of Dori's use of materials. Thickness refers to a web of meaning and a melange of social facts embedded within an object matter. For instance, as we mention the word “raw material” of a work, are we aware that their rawness is rather deceptive, that they are, in fact, ready-made materials which have gone through a controlled, regulated and standardised process of production? Our extensive need for automated batch processes - to produce varieties of sheet glasses, sheet metals, thin wires, light tubes - has distracted us from the large-scale manufacture that has been going on for more than a century. Dori’s works evinced an understanding that the relation between clean-cut man-made materials and a larger narrative began long before a thematic reference as such was made. She developed it through a combination of craftsmanship and minimalist presentation. While cleanness not only refers to the clean-cut and the clean-fit, but also intended to mock the effort we put into an unthoughtful maintenance process, in which we, on one hand, produce noise and chaos, and, on the other, try to eliminate the unwanted. Hence, noise - the unwanted sound, an industrial byproduct, a piece of intangible pollution - in this context became yet another laughable symbol for humans’ selfishness.
Expansion Series No.26. 2024. LED neon tube, glass and steel frames. 240 x 5 x 90 cm.
Expansion Series No.38. 2024. Stainless steel structure, glass, metal wire. 90 x 22 x 30 cm.
BROWNIE Project's white and black spaces provided Dori with a complex environment to present different sculptures. Inside the bright lobby, we could see the clear lines of the interior. The natural light only made every detail clearer. The partition wall in the middle cut into the gallery space, blocking some of the natural light and providing a grey space for Dori to play with. As we turned into the dark space with dropped ceilings, we would encounter an entirely different aura in which the lights in Dori’s works became the only source of lighting, leaving us a sense of danger...... The various atmosphere and aura became an important part of the exhibition's narrative, allowing us to feel the nuanced relationship between the works.
BROWNIE Project's CORRIDOR, a 12-metre long, 7-metre high and less than 1-metre wide dark narrow space, is a venue to support young artists in presenting multi-media work. For the exhibition Clean Noise, we have also named it The Analogue Room and used it to show objects that have been dear to Dori and her practice. This semi-independent curatorial project space provided an opportunity for audience to understand Dori’s creative process in a richer context. Here we presented a mechanical metronome, a display of failed/cancelled materials, a film station, a duo-slide projector, and one of her Drawing Studies.
(Find out more about The Analogue Room here.)
External links:
Press release published on Brownie Project’s WeChat official account.
Photo documentation on the gallery’s website.
The exhibition was recommended by West Bund Art and Design fair.