Ji Zhou: Symbiosis

New York, NY, June 22, 2022 - Eli Klein Gallery is proud to present “Ji Zhou: Symbiosis” - the artist’s third solo exhibition with the gallery. The artist, based on his observation and reflection on the current situation of the contemporary environment, focuses on plants  in the works in this exhibition. Every piece was shot and laid out on a specially designed structure, the light from which allows the artist to isolate and inspect each plant, with an emphasis on its pattern. The contrast between the natural plants and the appearance of artificial photography suggests a symbiotic relationship between what is ordinarily provided, and what is altered by humans.

Since Ji Zhou’s 2017 solo exhibition at the Gallery, the world has changed radically due, in part, to the global pandemic. By experiencing this global change, the artist began to shift the focus of his works from urban landscapes to honeysuckle - the flower whose leaves endure the winter - and created the Metempsychosis - 2022 (2022) series. Honeysuckles are very adaptable and are not strictly dependent on soil and climate. When photographed, the flowers can wither faster than they grow naturally, but it is also because of the photography that the flowers can be framed as they once bloomed. The Metempsychosis series is a group of abstract expressionist photographs inspired by Jackson Pollock's paintings. “Vitality in Action” is the emphasis for these works. The images are given a gradient effect and the plants are brought to life by the illumination of the light. The blooming flowers and the wilted flowers intertwine with each other: they seem to be struggling and blooming in the withering. The real and the illusory captured in these photographs showcase the full cycle of the plants’ lives in one united display.

Under a monochromatic filter, Twining Florets (2021), a lightbox work, shows a seemingly contradictory, but intertwined, scene of reality and fantasy. Staying home during the pandemic forced many people to lose direct contact with the natural world, leaving their memories of nature and plants blurred. The sides of the lightbox are left uncolored, allowing the viewers to see the original color of the work through the slit. Although the entirety of the image is still inaccessible via this view, it is enough to restore, aided by one’s imagination, the original appearance of the part covered by the filter.