歷史臆想 Historical Imagination

張文智 ZHANG Wenzhi

《鹿鸣谷》 Valley of the Deer,2020
历史文献、纸本设色 ink and color, and archival materials on rice paper
H203x 90.5cm
H207 x 94.5 cm

《亚细亚列车》Asia Express
,2019
纸本水墨 ink on rice paper

亚细亚号列车作为南满洲铁道株式会社所属的一座著名的流线型机车,不断地往行于大连与“新京“长春之间,承载了许多我对于那个关东州与伪满洲国时代的想象。也因此它会变成一个文学创作的舞台,让不同国家不同阶级的角色都能够在这样的一个空间中相互掣肘。会随着我的想象去寻找鸿胪井碑与好太王碑留下的线索,能够借此织连出一幅东北亚独特的地缘风貌。
As a famous streamlined locomotive belonging to the South Manchurian Railway Company., the Asia Express ran between Dalian and“Hsin-King”(Changchun), carrying much of my imagination about the era of the Kwantung Leased Territory and the Puppet Manchurian government. It became a stage for literary creation, various roles from different classes of different countries can be mutually restrained on this stage. I followed my imagination to find the clues left by the Hongyi Well Stele and the Gwanggaeto Stele,

H 140 x 216 cm (三联triptych)

《白玉山》 White Jade Mountain,2019
历史文献、纸本设色 ink and color, and archival materials on rice paper
H 70 x 140 cm
日俄战争后,日军为纪念战死亡魂在白玉山建造了一坐高塔,名为“表忠塔”。塔顶可全览整个旅顺。并与白玉山山腰建了一所奉纳日军的纳骨祠。高耸的白玉塔坐落于此,不仅仅只是一座纪功碑,在这样一个俯瞰老虎尾独特地域,它似乎又变成了一座可以眺望山东半岛与朝鲜半岛的烽火台。
After the Russo-Japanese War, the Japanese army built a tower on White Jade Mountain to commemorate the souls of the dead, named “Loyalty Tower.” The top of the tower provides an overview of the entire Lvshun. They also built a shrine for the Japanese army half way up on the BaiyuMountain. The soaring White Jade Tower is not just a monument, but is also located in such a unique area overlooking the Tiger Tail, thus it seems to have become a beacon tower overlooking the Shandong Peninsula and the Korean Peninsula.

《黑龙引》 The Journal of The Black Dragon,2019
纸本水墨、柚木屏风 ink on rice paper mounted on linen, teak wood screen
H 182 x 72 x 3 cm x 6 pcs

《黑龙引》以关东州的历史作为出发点,将现实的历史巧合用虚妄的想象连接起来。天皇的肖像,奇怪的巨鱼头骨,变成老虎的鲨鱼,零碎的的信息被连接起来变成了一组奇幻的关东州的史诗。一条幻化成鲇鱼的黑龙预兆着历史奇幻的走向。伊藤的遇刺、尼古拉二世政权的覆灭、东京大地震,井上圆了的猝死,这一幕幕都有着这条象征雷神的黑龙所留下的线索。
Using the history of the Kwantung Leased Territory as a background (actual historical events) the artist adds on his vivid imagination to thread the narrative. A portrait of the Japanese emperor, an enormous fish head skull, and a shark morphed into a tiger… bits and pieces of information being linked together develop into a fantastical epic about this former colonial territory. The Black Dragon turns into a gigantic catfish an omen that history was taking a mystical turn. The assassination of Itō Hirobumi , the collapse of Nikolai II’s regime, the Great Kantō earthquake (1923), and the sudden death of Inoue Enryō , all these incidents symbolize the clues that the black dragon left behind.

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