Exhibition Review｜Ziyu Wang: Performative and Performance

 

 

About artist:

“My work looks to break consensus and reshape outmoded notions of masculinity through performative photographic series. My photographs juxtapose a tension between expected modes of behavior as a Chinese man, together with rebellious or provocative counter behaviours. In this way I am subverting the familial and societal expectations by creating a contemporary response to these. I perform scenarios that fulfill a sense of masculinity using self-portraits in intimate surroundings. I look to raise awareness of the misconceptions of the queer experience that still create a barrier between generations, by sharing my own experiences in a confrontation with these stereotypes. Breaking these down into poignant and absurd photographic scenarios is a way of dealing with perceptions of homosexuality, masculinity and feminity,which is at the heart of my narratives.”

 

 

95h x 120w cm (Art Work) / 97h x 122w cm (Mat Board)

3+2AP

 

In the group exhibition "The Retinue of Dionysus" at Nan Ke Gallery, artist Ziyu Wang dissects the concept of masculinity from the perspective of performance. This theme, rooted in traditional paradigms, has faced significant upheaval and transformation in the modern era.

 

Born into a traditional Chinese family, Ziyu Wang has lived in London for a long time and is now based in Shanghai.His self-identification as a queer creates an inner paradox of lightness, fervor, and freedom juxtaposed against the rigid, desiccated exterior of traditional masculinity. It is within this tension that Wang contemplates and expresses himself. In his works for this exhibition, the artist performs the role of the "perfect son" expected by his father through a series of self-portraits.

 

95h x 120w cm (Art Work) / 97h x 122w cm (Mat Board)

3+2AP

  

Judith Butler's research posits that gender is not a pre-existing fact; rather, the body acquires gender through a series of actions that continually evolve over time. Within traditional gender frameworks, "masculinity" is often characterized as "loud, strong, and bold"—essentially, "manly". This "performance" is a process of "gendering" where an innocent, unmarked "person" is subtly influenced by societal gender norms, leading to an unconscious expression of a particular gender identity.

 

 A Man's Metal, 2022

48h x 58w cm (Art Work) / 50h x 60w cm (Mat Board)

3+2AP

  

When these gender frameworks, influenced externally by cultural changes and internally by personal identity struggles, fail to align, they become restrictive conventions. Ziyu Wang seeks to break these norms through "performance" inverting the concept of "gendering". By adopting a playful, exaggerated, and satirical approach, he reenacts the traditionally expected masculine traits, using absurdity to question and challenge them.

 

12h x 10w cm (Art Work) / 24h x 20w cm (Mat Board)

5+2AP

  

As viewers engage with Ziyu Wang's works, they assume the role of the artist's father, akin to a director observing through a surveillance camera. They witness the artist's understanding, processing, and enactment of "masculinity". In these images, Wang embodies the "perfect son" with a performative, almost comical display of exaggerated masculine traits. Strength, violence, and even sexual prowess are amplified, inviting the audience's scrutiny.

 

While the series ostensibly aims to "reassure the father" the conveyed emotions are unsettling. The dichotomy between the performed façade and the underlying emotional truth is omnipresent, transmitting an indescribable sense of oppression through the self-portraits. The imagery, with Wang's bloodshed symbolizing expansive "machismo" and "conquest" juxtaposed with his subtle expressions and body language, reveals a hidden softness, fragility, and desolation beneath the hollow exterior of toughness.

 

12h x 10w cm (Art Work) / 24h x 20w cm (Mat Board)

5+2AP

 

In Ziyu Wang's works, his body becomes the stage for dialectical performance: on one hand, it is the subject of scrutiny. As Milan Kundera notes, "The gaze of others is heavy, a vampiric kiss". Masculine hegemony, while bestowing excessive power, also imposes excessive rules and hidden pain. On the other hand, the body is a controllable entity, an externalization of the soul. It can transform into a medium of expression, freely or excessively enacting gender, and thus articulating a rebellion against unreasonable constraints.

 

In "The Retinue of Dionysus", Ziyu Wang seems to explore this idea: individuals live within norms for protection, but stepping beyond these boundaries poses threats, forcing them to accept challenges and continually justify themselves. Thus, those who transgress use performance to link "stigmatized, illegal, fragmented, and broken signs" to resist the overarching theories of the adjudicators.

 

Text by Roxane Fu