Meng Zhou's creations stem from a profound humility towards nature, and the richness and uniqueness of this creation often comes from his experiences traveling in remote or extreme environments. Meng Zhou is an observer and explorer, searching for cultures and their venues, as well as the places that feel closest to the universe. In his work, making connections and gaining a more precise understanding of the information hidden beneath the visible surface is an important part of creation. He never judges directly, but through his work he interrogates society and its structures.
Meng Zhou
The Rite of Spring 2, 2020
PVA, paper, paper mache and ink on canvas
170h x 170w cm
© Courtesy of the artist
“The Rite of Spring” asks about the violence of sacrificial logic: is the human body merely a temporary container for the flow of natural energy? Perhaps the human body is merely a temporary container for the flow of natural energy? Meng Zhou's paintings seem to respond to this question. The artist uses his own dreams combined with mythological metaphors to abstract the entangled and symbiotic relationship between man and his environment. In his paintings, the human subject is placed in different scales of time and space, and man and nature are no longer separated into the dualistic objects of study constructed by Enlightenment rationality, but seem to exist in a contractual order of man-god-nature.
Installation view of The Rite of Spring, March 8, 2025 - April 20, 2025, Nan Ke Gallery, Shanghai © Courtesy of Nan Ke Gallery, Photographed by Runxin.
Meng Zhou has been travelling between the UK and China for the past 10 years, exploring the intersection of cross-cultural identities. His work is characterised by the elegance and flavour of the East, but also by the intellectualism and authenticity of the West. A variety of techniques serve to make the ideal image of his imagination tangible and visible to the viewer. He regularly incorporates dance as a physical, gestural world of expression into his drawings, paintings and objects. It is the study of bodies in motion that represents an extension of his artistic work.
